Millions of political messages circulate via email, but the impact of that medium is difficult to evaluate.

ForwardTrack is a system created by Eyebeam R&D to promote on-line activism. The system tracks and maps the diffusion of email forwards, political calls-to-action, and petitions.

Its objective is to help people understand decentralized networks, see the power of “6 degrees of separation” and prove them that one person can make a difference.

The first ForwardTrack campaign is Tom’s Petition. Five years ago, Tom Mauser’s son was killed in the Columbine High School shootings by two students. One of them used an illegal assault weapon. Now Tom has launched a campaign to keep these weapons off the streets.

If you are American and want to take part in the ForwardTrack experiment to support Tom’s cause, forward an email to your friends and send a copy back to [email protected]. To get the petition email, just sign up on the main site . After you forward the email, you will get a personal page that shows your impact on the cause.

Via Eyebeam.