In technical terms, the Internet is made up of millions of separate web pages or sites, located on special computers called "servers" which are connected to each other, to your computer and to tens of millions of other Internet users’ computers all around the world.

It may sound complicated, but really it’s no different to the normal telephone network – except there’s a computer at the end of each line instead of a handset!

Each web site is made up of individual pages – like this one – which usually include a combination of text and graphics. These pages are "linked" to each other within each site, and can be linked to or from any other site, creating one big never-ending chain of information.

In this tutorial we compare using the Internet to going on a journey, but unlike real travel you don’t actually have to go anywhere. Instead the world comes to you! And these days using the Internet won’t cost you the earth - there are a wide range of plans available to suit every budget.