There's nothing like a little 007-style espionage to add a little bit of excitement to an election campaign that's been about as dull as a butter knife. 

So far though, none of the so-called 'spies' that have been trailing the candidates, hoping to catch the slightest gaffe or slip up, have come up with much material.  But it's not for a lack of trying. 

They're at every event and every speech, just waiting to record an off-colour remark, or embarrassing moment and post it online.

It's a fact of life on the campaign trail. 

"Everybody seems to be doing this now," remarks Conservative Leader John Tory.  "Do I think it's a positive development in politics?  Not necessarily, but it's a free country and people will do what they choose to do."

Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty claims he doesn't feel the need to resort to such low-brow tactics.   "I'm in my ads," he notes.  "I want to talk about my policies."  But some say it's guerrilla politics on the web.

"I think it's really a gotcha-style politics," adds Greg Elmer of Infoscape Media.  "It's 'Oh, you slipped up, it's oops, oh, look at this, got you in an embarrassing moment."

Observers say the tactic has changed the way campaigns are run. They're more toxic now. They're instant, and candidates are under the microscope more than ever before. So any slipup captured on amateur video then posted on-line can be a very powerful weapon.  That doesn't mean the public believes everything that flashes on a computer screen.

"You just can't believe what you see online," notes voter Andrea Kerton.