Season 1

In 1999 Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, which has opened up a vast array of opportunities for commerce, particularly for the big software companies who are now fighting for domination in the Web software markert. The programme investigates the commercial takeover of the Web and asks whether Berners-Lee can keep Web technology free from the control of a single ocmpany.

Looks at Silicon Valley, the heart of the Internet industry, housed in the suburbs between San Francisco and San Jose, California, and the big success stories found there. Thousands of people world-wide are turning to the Web in the belief that they too can make fast money. Explores how the Web has changed the life of Wendi Hebb from Sheffield, who gave up her career as a jewellery maker to start her own website made-in-sheffield.com. Asks how easy it is to succeed in the electronic marketplace of tomorrow.

Tells the story of the British and American pioneers of the information age have in the last 30 years changed the world through the invention of the Internet, electronic mail and the World Wide Web. E-mail and Web publsihing have made people aware that the Internet is a powerful way to share information, but not everyone is happy with thi culture of free speech - least of all the politicians. This programme reveals why, for better or for worse, the information network is here to stay.