ow has networks that receive bids for ads and place them instantly in a great many sites. Ad networks are an attractive feature for advertising agencies that manage their customers' marketing campaigns by placing ads in the network. Ad networks are a major advan- tage for Google over smaller Internet companies such as Yahoo! and AOL (America OnLine) that do not have ad networks with as large a reach. The Internet is an integral part of the daily activities of many people. The follow- ing is a quote from a college student in Massachusetts that expresses the increasing dependence of young people on the Internet for much of their social life, for shopping, and as a source of information: I am a totally Internet person. I cannot live without the Internet. I depend on the Internet to search for information, to study, to connect with other people, to go shopping, and to do anything. However, the Internet is not yet ubiquitous, nor can it be accessed by people universally. In developing countries, less than five percent of the population utilize the Internet. Interestigly, these people typically do not have advanced, high-speed infrastructure available, but many of them do have mobile phones, which they use for e-mail. Thus, there is still a potential for a great deal of growth in Internet traffic worldwide as more countries build out infrastructure capable of supporting high-speed mobile Internet access. The Internet THE GROWTH OF THE INTERNET When it was first developed in 1969, the Internet was used initially by the government and universities. Access to files on remote computers and e-mail was cumbersome and slow, and required arcane computer commands. Beginning in 1993, browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer did away with the requirement to learn computer commands to navigate the Web. The development of browsers marked the beginning of large-scale consumer access to online services. However, for most consumers, Internet access was limited to dial-up services, which initially supported speeds of o