After completing this section you should be able to:

• give a brief description of what the Internet is, and explain the term World Wide Web
• list the requirements for a connection to the Internet
• list typical customer services provided by an Internet Service Provider
• explain the meaning of the term protocols in relation to the Internet
• describe how the World Wide Web is used
• explain what a web site is
• explain in detail how to use a search engine to locate information

The Internet is really a world-wide area network of wide area networks – the biggest network in the world. Some of the computers on the Internet are small PCs, while others are huge supercomputers. Because the data held on any of these computers can be accessed by any other computer, the Internet can offer a vast amount of information. Data can also be passed around the world very rapidly. When people talk about the Internet, they often mean the World Wide Web.

This is the fastest growing part of the Internet and it takes the form of pages where graphics, sound, video and animation are used with text to present information on every topic.

The pages on the World Wide Web are organised into sites and the mix of media used in a site is called hypertext. Hypertext links are built into the World Wide Web, and these allow the user to move around by clicking on words or graphics on the screen. The user interface that is thus provided by the World Wide Web is both attractive and easy to use.