Diverse Uses of Internet ?

For most of its existence the Internet was primarily a research and academic network. More recently, commercial enterprises and a vast number of consumers have come to recognize the Internet's potential. Today people and businesses around the world can use the Internet to retrieve information, communicate and conduct business globally, and access a vast array of services and resources on-line.

The primary use of the Internet is electronic mail (commonly called "e-mail"). Millions of people use the Internet for electronic mail capabilities. Electronic mail however, is only a small part of what the Internet offers. There's also - chat groups - the World Wide Web - e-mail and mailing lists - bulletin boards and newsgroups - remote computer access (telnet) - file transfer (using ftp, or file transfer protocol)

More recent developments have made possible book and magazine publishing, video conferencing, and audio broadcasts. Amateur radio, cable television wires, spread spectrum radio, satellite, and fibre optics have all been used to deliver Internet services. Networked games, networked monetary transactions, and virtual museums are among applications being developed.

Users can join any of the thousands of Internet discussion groups, search for specific information in vast libraries, or transfer a variety of files to their computer. They can also explore the World Wide Web the Internet's multimedia service. Over just the last few years Internet-based resources and services have grown exponentially. Based on current projections this rapid growth will continue into the next decade as more businesses and consumers make the decision to move onto the Internet.