Whether you lack a high-speed Internet connection at home or are out and about and suddenly get the urge to check your e-mail or pretend you're a gun-toting mercenary, all-night Internet cafés can come in handy. For $2 or $3 an hour (less if you take advantage of some specials) night owls can prowl the Web or attack aliens whenever they like. There used to be more 24/7 Internet cafés along Queen West and up and down Spadina. But now you'll find most clustered in two neighbourhoods: Bloor from Euclid to Brunswick, and Yonge from Bloor to Wellesley.

To call them cafés is a stretch. Yes, some of them display a sad little thermos of java near the cash register, but 24-hour coffee joints (Tim Hortons or Coffee Time) are usually nearby. Most Net cafés serve soft drinks, chips and candy bars to fuel those cyber urges.

Beginning in Korea Town – oh yeah, most Internet cafés in the city seem to be owned and operated by Korean Canadians, dunno why – there's Nexus Web Café (630 Bloor West, 416-538-8898). Huge signage outside makes it hard to miss, but once inside you'll swear you're in a telemarketers office, right down to the fluorescent lighting, cubicles and beat-up office chairs that look like they were ordered in bulk from Grand & Toy in 1995. A few terminals have webcams, signs are posted indicating which computers are equipped with CD burners and specific software or games, and it's quiet enough. My weeknight 1:30 am visit finds no one there.

You won't find much privacy at Gig@bites (618 Bloor West, 416-531-0030), a few feet away. Along with being less garishly lit – we're talking dark – it's got a more open concept. Obviously, that doesn't bother the 10 people I find there gaming and chatting at 3 am. The summer special isn't bad either – $1 for 30 minutes.

Crossing Bathurst, I encounter Cyber Space (561 Bloor West, no phone), a second-floor space ironically located right next to Insomnia. There's a guy sleeping on a sofa and the electronic sounds of men dying horrible deaths, giving this the feel of either a frat house or a serial killer's lair. The lighting's bad, the computers are laid out in rows – no cubicles – and the ambience is pretty basic, like a budget hotel.

Internet Mart (519 Bloor West, 416-538-1498) is a place you could settle in for a few late-night hours. It's located right near Lee's Palace, and though it's got loud orange signage outside, inside it's an oasis of comfort, with gentle downward lighting, plenty of two-terminal booths for maximum privacy, and wrist rests for keyboards. The chairs actually offer lower-back support. What's great is that you're not assigned a specific terminal – you're given a card and can insert it into readers at any computer (helpful if someone obnoxious sits next to you). Clearly popular with students and the bar crowd, it's filled with people chatting and messaging (strangely, no gamers, although there are tons of games and even DVDs available at the front) when I visit at 2 am. Bonus: besides the usual snacks, you can buy smokes, batteries, phone cards and even condoms.

The Yonge Internet cafés are a bit different. For one thing, they're closer to the gay village, so – at least late at night – you'll find more guys online, often in gay chatrooms. (Overall, late-night cyberusers tend to be about 85 per cent guys anyway.)

The net café formerly known as Web Fusion, now called Netropass (834 Yonge, 416-920-5042), is right across from the Toronto Reference Library. It's one of the city's better Internet cafés, clean, with tons of room and privacy (double cubicles). You're given a card with a code to key in, so you can hop around here if you like, too. Also helpful is a bank of terminals near the front with lots of desk space in case you're doing research. The 8 pm-to-9 am special is a bargain at $13.

Cyber Max (656 Yonge, 416-960-1702) and I Klick (614 Yonge, 416-922-0852) both offer 10 pm-to-10 am $10 specials, but Cyber Max also offers reduced rates for two hours or more of Net usage. Or you can pick up a two-hour ($5) or five-hour ($10) card that lets you come and go as you please (handy if you want to pop in for two minutes to check e-mail). Both places have a similar vibe and are pretty busy when I check them out after 3 in the morning. Gamers use earphones, so you won't be disturbed by gunfire sounds. I Klick also has the distinction of selling hair accessories near the counter. Go figure.

There's more of an arcade feel across the street in Webst@tion 's (575 Yonge, 416-922-5104) huge chunk of second-storey real estate. Oversized posters with black lighting are displayed on the walls, and heavy metal is piped in through speakers, but not too loudly. At 3:30 am, a couple of gamers are battling it out (not wearing earphones), but the place is big enough so you can find your own little corner to do what you like. A $5 membership gets you a card (plus 90 minutes) so you can add time and plug and play whenever you like, no minimum.

Just a few steps from Yonge and Gerrard, Web Zone (370 Yonge, 416-408-0570) is a clean, well-run joint that's handy if you're in the neighbourhood. It's easy to miss – the entrance is off of Walton, the side street that leads to the Delta Chelsea's side entrance. Considering the nabe, it's safe and private, with a warm ambience (wall sconces), although the piped-in pop music might not be to everyone's taste.