The Internet was started as a federally funded experiment to connect dissimilar computers for the military. It was called "ARPANET" after the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Bolt, Beranick, and Newman (BBN) in Cambridge, Mass. became the lead contractor. Their charge was to develop the method of communication between computers. Early trials started in 1969 with 4 systems on the West Coast, 3 in California and 1 in Utah.

By 1975, the number of computers had expanded to 63. The ARPANET team developed TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) which is the method of exchanging data between computers. Some of their other accomplishments include electronic mail and Ethernet. BBN developed the first implementation of the TCP/IP protocol for the UNIX computers and sent the first email message, inventing the @ symbol that is used today.

Over time, the ARPANET evolved into a series of small networks at college campuses, research organizations, and government agencies, all linked to a backbone network run by the National Science Foundation.

By the late 1980s commercial companies were allowed to access the Internet but were mostly government contractors and companies specializing in computers. The advantages of international email, newsgroups and file transfers did not provide the incentive for other commercial interests to connect to the Internet.

The World Wide Web (WWW) is basically a bunch of servers at various locations around the world, all connected to the Internet. The technology for the World Wide Web was developed by a scientist named Tim Berners-Lee, who has become a legend in his own time. Berners-Lee was working at the European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN) in Switzerland when he figured out that by combining hyperlink and the Internet technology he could share information with other physicists around the globe.