This characteristic is made possible by a component of Web protocol known as the Uniform Resource Locator, or URL. This is a special address that identifies where objects on the Web are retrievable. Commonly, these addresses begin with "http," which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This indicates that the object to be retrieved involves Web-standard hypertext.

The boon of URLs is that they are linked to Web hypertext. But graphics and sounds are not the only objects that have URLs. Entire Web sites can be located by using URLs. It is through such URLs that any one Web page can include links to any number of other Web pages, thus creating a "world-wide web."

The URL for a Web page is essentially its "cyberspace address." The URL for Pizza Hut is http://www.pizzahut.com, and the URL for Condom Country is http://www.ag.com/Condom/Country.

While students can use hypertext links to get to any location on the Web, the URL allows them to jump to specific locations quickly.

The Future

The possibilities of the Web are limitless, students say, particularly for academic and educational purposes.

"I imagine that as the Web itself gets more...developed, people will start using it for an intended academic purpose," says Phil Cartagena '96.

"I'm hoping that there will be, for example, more electronic books hooked to the Web so that people could use it instead of going to the library as a way of getting info right to their room," Hekman adds.

Some say Harvard departments and student groups will find their way onto the Web in the near future. The Harvard Computer Society is sponsoring a Get Harvard On line project which advises undergraduate organizations on Internet services they use.

"Ideally, many more organizations will be connected via the Web so nearly any into could be obtained using a simple program like Mosaic," says Daniel A. Lopez '97, the Web representative for the Get Harvard On line project.

"I would love to be able to search for events and activities going on at Harvard on any particular day," Lopez adds. "If enough organizations become involved, it may be easy to do this for activities ranging from a concert at Sanders Theater to a speaker at the Institute of Politics."

There is some skepticism about the policies. Harvard, several students note, has been slow to adapt to new technologies.

"The course catalog is already on the Web and there will be a lot more info on the Web in terms of official transaction and interaction, such as registering, over the Web," Kim says. "Harvard is generally very tentative about getting into such revolutionary fields, so I don't foresee something like that in the near future, but you never know."

Some students also predict the Web will tend to revolutionize the world of business

"More and more companies are getting on the Web every day and I think this is just the beginning of a fundamental shift in commerce," Tarr says. "I think this whole area of on-line business and advertising is really going to take off really soon."

Bhan agrees. But he cautions that the opportunities offered by the Web must grow if the medium is to remain one of the easiest ways to communicate on the Internet.

"I think we will see a lot more commercial use of the Web by businesses," Bhan says. "However, the Web as it stands now is some what limited and interfaces to it will have to be extended if it is to remain in use for a long time.