Not related to internet, but that the first time I heard that the 'neutral statement of agreement' OK, could be spelled otherwise (окей ) Why add the ей? is it to mimic the English sonority of the word? Does 'к' without some letter after it, sound very different than the English "K" ?
It's "ohk", actually. Yes, the "ей" is added to mimic the English sound of the interjection. "ок" (cyrillic without "ей") is used in the Internet communication often enough for it to leak out into the real world. My sister always says "ну ок" [noo OHK], meaning "well okay", to express agreement. One must keep in mind that Russian phonetics are quite a bit different from English, and in different ways it is expressed. I might give you an overview of the phonetical system if you're interested.