The persuasive power of peer guides in Web sites that promote HIV/AIDS voluntary counselling and testing

This study investigates the persuasive power and cultural appropriateness of a personal agent in Web sites intended to persuade university students to go for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). Three versions of the same Web site were presented to Dutch and South African university students. The results show that visual personalization had more effect than verbal cues and that South African students estimated all versions of the Web sites as more persuasive than Dutch students. The huge intercultural differences make clear that personalization cues can be effective in sensitive health-related communication. The results stress the importance of cross-cultural research in developing culturally appropriate Web sites.