1. Highlights in Internet History

7. AOL America Online is perhaps best known for "AOL Instant Messenger" (AIM) a free instant messaging computer program. In the early 1990s, AOL was among the first service providers to give customers from outside academia and the military access to the Internet. They also emphasized a relatively user-friendly, graphics-heavy interface. As such, they were primarily associated with the influx of new users. AOL has long maintained a massive marketing push, mailing sign-up diskettes and CD-ROMs to over 100 million households, which fueled a massive growth and helped them dominate the online field After a decade of hyper-growth, AOL merged with media giant Time Warner. The $106 billion merger was completed in January, 2001

11. Current world stats: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm 1,086 Million Internet Users as of September, 2006 229,138,706 people in North America or 69% of the population. It's a 112.0 % growth rate from 2000-2006

12. Updated April 2006