The Internet

The internet is a huge interconnected network of connected computers that can communicate directly with each other. It stretches around the world, connecting millions of computers.

The internet started as a research based network of computer users at universities in the U.S.A in the 1980s. It was also used by government researchers and scientific agencies for further development. Then it continued to grow rapidly. In early 1996, access was available to 180 countries and there were more than 30 million users. It is expected that 100 million computers will be connected via public Internet by 2000 and even more via enterprise internets.