The Internet has recently celebrated its thirty-sixth anniversary. Originally designed around 1969 to allow the exchange of packets of bits between computers, it remained for a long time restricted to the exchange of scientific data between scientists and secure information within governments. Then electronic mail and bulletin boards became increasingly popular among those with access to it. Actually, it was only in the 1990s that the Internet became a popular means of communication. When in 1993, the US federal government opened up the network to commerce, the creation of the Hypertext Mark-Up Language (HTML) laid the basis for universal accessibility.
Since then the growth has been phenomenal. Different surveys today suggest that fifteen percent of people worldwide are using the Internet, or simply “the Net.” The daily use of the World Wide Web is gaining tremendous popularity among those possessing the adequate tools and means to explore it, and the number of users increases by the hour. In fact, the Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the...