Internet

The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net", is a massive worldwide system of computer networks - a network of networks, a networking infrastructure.  The Internet connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can communicate with any other computer.

Information that travels over the Internet does so using a set of protocols called TCP/IP (for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), serving billions of users worldwide.

The Internet is used for accessing information on inter-linked documents (Web sites) of the World Wide Web (WWW), as well as for e-mail, Usenet news groups, instant messaging and FTP.

The Internet was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANet.  The original aim was to create a network that would allow users of a research computer at one university to be able to "talk to" research computers at other universities.  A side benefit of ARPANet's design was that, because messages could be routed or rerouted in more than one direction, the network could continue to function even if parts of it were destroyed in the event of a military attack or other disaster.

The development of hypertext based technology (called World Wide Web, WWW, or just the Web) provided means of displaying text, graphics, and animations, and easy search and navigation tools that triggered Internet's explosive worldwide growth.

Today, the Internet is a public, cooperative, and self-sustaining facility accessible to billions of people worldwide.  No one owns Internet, although several organizations the world over collaborate in its functioning and development.  Physically, the high-speed, fiber-optic cables (called backbones) through which the bulk of the Internet data travels are owned by telephone companies in their respective countries.

The most widely used part of the Internet is the World Wide Web (often abbreviated "WWW" or called "the Web").  For many Internet users, electronic mail (e-mail) has practically replaced the Postal Service for short written transactions.  Electronic mail is the most widely used application on the Net. You can also carry on live "conversations" with other computer users, using Internet Relay Chat (IRC).  More recently, Internet telephony hardware and software allows real-time voice conversations over the Internet.