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Why was the Internet created?

The Internet was created in the late 1960s so that U.S. Department of Defense researchers could share information with one another and with other researchers. The Advanced Research Projects Agency developed the Internet; its users, who were mostly scientists and academics, soon saw the power of the new technology: Wires linking computer terminals together in a "web" of networks allow people anywhere in the world to communicate over the computer. Even though it was developed by the government, the Internet is not government run. The Internet Society, a volunteer organization, addresses usage and standards issues.

The technology caught on, and by spring 1998, it was estimated that the Internet, which was made more accessible by the innovation of the World Wide Web, was being used by more than 50,000,000 people. (The World Wide Web is a part of the Internet designed to allow easier...

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