From the late 1960s to the early 1990s, the Internet was a communication and research tool used almost exclusively for academic and military purposes. This changed radically with the introduction of the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989. The first people to coin the term "internet" were two scientists, Vinton Cerf (known as "father of the Internet") and his collaborator Bob Kahn, who in 1974 devised a means by which data could be transmitted across a global-network of computers. An Oxford graduate, Tim Berners-Lee, set up the first "www " (a Server receives and sends messages) to store the archive of the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Switzerland. The first e-mail ever sent was in 1972 between computers in two American universities. Today individuals, companies, and institutions use the Internet in many ways. Businesses use the Internet to provide
access to complex databases, such as financial databases. Com panies carry out electronic commerce, including advertising, selling, buying, distributing products, and providing aftersales services. Businesses and institutions use the Internet for voice and video conferencing and other forms of communication that enable people to telecommute, or work from a distance. The use of electronic mail over the Internet has greatly speeded communication between companies, and between other individuals. Media and entertainment companies use the Internet to broadcast audio and video, including live radio and television programs. They also offer online chat groups, in which people carry on discussions using written text, and online news and weather programs. Scientists and scholars use the Internet to communicate with colleagues, to perform research, to distribute lecture notes and course materials to students, and to publish papers and articles. Individuals use the Internet for communication, entertainment, finding information. and to buy and sell goods and services. The most frequently used search word on the net is "sex", typed in 1,550,000 times every month. The most mentioned male on the Internet is President Bill Clinton, whose name is linked to 1,542,790 sites. The most mentioned female on the Internet is the actress
Pamela Anderson, whose name is linked to 1,542,282 sites.