Section One

1. Brief Outline of the Internet

2. The Internet Tools
   • Archie..........E-Mail ..........FTP ..........Gopher ..........HTML..........HTTP
   • Listserv ..........TCP/IP ..........Telnet ..........Usenet..........Veronica ..........World Wide Web (WWW)

3. The Internet Statistics
   • Top 31 country and transnational domains by size in January 1995 (table)
   • Growth of the Internet (table)
   • The World Wide Web
     • Growth of Internet Browsing Services (table)

The Internet Statastics

Precise statistics about Internet usage are difficult to obtain, due to the diverse and global nature of it. However, the Internet Society, based in Reston, Virginia, maintains statistics which are the most accurate. The following tables depict the growth of Internet usage by Domain.

• Top 31 Country and Transnational Domains by Size in Jan 1995
• Growth of the Internet -- Internet Messaging Traffic

• Growth of Internet Browsing Services

The growth of the WWW is a significant development, because the World Wide Web has made the Internet a mature technology for many types of commercial transaction. Retail items, for example, can be browsed on the WWW as easily as in a catalogue, and ordering information can be sent to the retail outlet immediately. With this development, Internet Shopping Malls have become increasingly popular and widespread.

Return to the top of this document

Return to the Opening Table of Contents

Proceed to Section Two: Rationale for Businesses to Connect to the Internet