It is widely recognized that the Internet has fundamentally changed the dynamics of publication, and in particular, it is clear that there is no effective way to control the release of any web-based publication. The scientific and lay literature is now accessible to the public with unprecedented ease Recent proposals to start a life sciences online repository of preprints highlights the trend towards "publish first, review later" that seems to be emerging. Does this mean that the peer review process is dead? It certainly suggests that there is a need for a change in how the process works. We discuss currently available technologies to enable the implementation of new, distributed peer review process benefiting multiple user communities.