Belle recounted her preparations like stocking rinsing
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The infamous call girl who recorded her liaisons and encounters with clients on her web diary, or blog, has signed off.
Belle de Jour captured the wave of blogging and earned notoriety for the sometimes explicit online accounts.
Furious speculation surrounded her real identity, whether she was even female, with many believing it to be a hoax.
Last year, the blog earned a Guardian newspaper award and Belle was also signed up for a book deal based on her apparent experiences as a call girl.
"The time will never be right to finish the diary - so I am ending it now," Belle wrote on the blog.
Aside from the titillating and sometimes explicit details which were recounted in the blog about clients, meetings, and preparations, it was a draw for fans because of its immediacy.
Hoax claims
After Belle won the newspaper award, there was fervent speculation about her real-life identity, with some suggesting the blog was a hoax by a journalist.
Belle responded by posting a message saying: "Yes, I really am a call girl ... A bored journalist could probably fake this blog but I'm not that clever."
Several well-known writers were suggested by newspaper reports, but they all denied any involvement.
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If I could add one thing, it would be this - don't ever turn down pleasure because you were afraid of what other people might say
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The speculation resulted in another website, called iambelledejour.com, which gave people the chance to confess to being Belle.
Announcing that she was giving up her blog, Belle wrote: "When this blog started it was with no expectations.
"I've never lived my life to a plan aside from enjoying myself and have (for the most part) enjoyed doing this."
She added: "Thank you to everyone who supported me. Thank you to the critics as well. I wish you all a sweet new year.
"If I could add one thing, it would be this - don't ever turn down pleasure because you were afraid of what other people might say."
Blogs, or weblogs, have grown in popularity over the last 18 months. Essentially, they are an easy way for people to publish diaries online.
The journal or diary sits on a web page and can be read by anyone with access to the net. Several companies provide free blogs, including Blogger and LiveJournal among many others.
They usually consist of personal web pages, which are usually updated daily, and include a mixture of diary, links to other blogs, and interactive elements.