What the Web is

The World Wide Web, Web or WWW is a network of documents that works in a hypertext environment, i.e. using text that contains links, hyperlinks to other documents.
The files, web pages, are stored in computers, which act as servers. Your computer, the client, uses a web browser, a special program to access and download them. The web pages are organized in websites, groups or pages located on the Web, maintained by a webmaster, the manager of a website.
The Web enables you to post and access all sorts of interactive multimedia information and has become a real information highway.

How to surf the Web

To surf or navigate the Web, access and retrieve web pages or websites, you need a computer with an Internet connection and a web browser. After you have launched it, you mast type the website address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator), which may look like this:
http://www.edufdr.kz/ict/1050.htm
http:// - indicates the type of protocol that the server and browser will use to communicate. Here it is Hypertext Transfer Protocol.
www. – shows that it is a resource on the World Wide Web.
edufdr.kz – is the domain name of the web server that hosts the website.
ict – is the part, the place where a web page is located.
1050.htm – is the filename or name of a single web page.
The different parts are separated by full stops (.) and forward slashes (/). When we say a URL, we say dot (.) and slash (/).

To find interesting sites you can use search engines, where the website information is compiled by spiders, computer-robot programs that collect information from sites by using keywords, or through web indexes, subject directories that are selected by people and organized into hierarchical subject categories. Some web portals – websites that offer all types of services. e.g. email, forums, search engines, etc. – are also good starting points.
The most relevant website addresses can be stored in your computer using the bookmarks or favourites function in your browser.
Websites usually have a beginning page or home page. From this starting point you can navigate by clicking your mouse on hyperlinks in texts or images.

What you can do on the Web

The Web is an open door to a universe of multimedia resources that people use in many different ways. Here are just a few:

- ‘In my weblog, on electronic journal I maintain on the Web, you can read and post opinions in chronological order. In my role as blogger, the manager of a blog. I can promote this new type of discussion.’

- ‘E-learning, education via the Web, is a great opportunity for people like me who haven’t got time to attend classes.’

- ‘Online shopping, i.e. cybershopping or e-commerce, saves you time and gives you the comfort of buying from your personal computer. The goods are then sent to you, so it’s very easy’