Information revolution: Internet and WWW in Eastern Europe, 1991-1997

One of the biggest and fastest changes occurring in Eastern Europe is the growth of the Internet, as documented by statistical information from RIPE, a coordinating group for IP networking in Europe. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Slovenia are regional Internet leaders with tens of thousands of hosts connected to the Net. The Internet originated at academic and research institutions, but quickly spread beyond academic circles and became more commercial. There are hundreds of commercial Internet providers offering such services as e-mail, ftp, gopher, USENET news distribution, electronic journals (many of which have been created in Eastern Europe) and WWW pages hosting and design. Although libraries and governments were the first to utilize the WWW, more and more commercial companies are raking advantage of the technology (including the first online bookstores and "shopping centers"). Despite Eastern Europe's economic and technological underdevelopment, the Internet development is irrevocable and has great potential.