11. Future of the Internet

The internet is going to continue to expand as developing countries set up their own networks that become part of the internet.

Efforts are underway to make the 'semantic net' a reality.

This means there that web sites will not only contain information that people read (English, French etc), but they will also contain information that machines and software agents can read directly. This will mean instead of using keywords, search engines will be able to find pages using a request like "Find me the top six sites on fly fishing" or "get me a list of restaurants open on Sunday in London". At the moment search engines will just return pages using the key word 'London' and 'Sunday' (if you are lucky).

The way you access the internet will also change. Wi-Fi hot spots will become so widespread that you will expect to be able to connect from almost anywhere on Earth.

As well as connecting with computers, connecting with mobile devices will become commonplace. Not only mobile phones but also brand new gadgets will be invented to let you hook into the internet on the move.

The internet will become faster. Instead of 8 Megabits per second, by the year 2020 you will be connecting at 1 thousand Megabytes per second, basically instantly.

The future is bright!