Global Computer Network

Internet is a global computer network, which connects millions of computers through the whole world. Internet technology sweepingly developed from the second half of the previous century. Internet tied around all the important elements and spheres of our life. It is difficult to imagine that our everyday activities, which used to be very easy, can become even easier. So Internet gave rise to many positive and some negative consequences. But ultimately, most of Americans need Internet in their everyday life.

I consider that one of the most widespread usage of the Internet bears educational nature. People access online public libraries in order to find some literature. People search for belles-lettres, popular scientific literature, halfpenny horribles, classic literature, scientific literature, detective stories, culinary books, textbooks for colleges and universities and so on. Many people search materials for making different research papers, online newspapers and magazines (here Internet forces out some print editions). People attend forums, where they can ask a question or answer the questions of other participants, utilize online encyclopedias etc. Some people search information for education, others search information for commercial use. Norman N. Hie and Lutz Erbring from the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society1 have made a research, which counts 4000 respondents, and state that all surveyed Internet users were engaged into educational requests from the Internet at least once.

Many Internet users utilize Internet for entertainment - about one third part of respondents, engaged into the Stanford's University research. Of course teenagers use Internet as entertainment source first of all - they play numerous online games, watch TV programs, and listen to different online radio stations. Women like to read horoscopes and magazines, watch fashion reviews. Lonely people can find the 'second half' for themselves - there are plenty companies that help people to find each other not only within America, but through over the world. Percentage of marriages between couples that have met in the Internet increases from the year to year.

The next widespread usage of Internet is communication. It includes IP telephony, Web cameras, chat rooms, ICQ and e-mail. Especially popular is e-mail - it became one of the most popular kind of communication, "90% of all Internet users claiming to be e-mailers"2. Internet communications became popular elsewhere - business communications, private contacts, sending resumes, recommendation letters and many others.

In business sphere Internet became irreplaceable tool because it gives an opportunity to run business from one office within the whole world. I think that multinational companies appreciate Internet as a business tool more than others. People can buy goods and services from any point of the globe. Business people can perform the following