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AOL has also leaded the way in protecting members' online privacy and security. The service's built-in Parental Controls offers the best available tools for parents to protect their children from inappropriate online content, choose whom they may or may not receive e-mail from, and even limit the amount of time they spend online. Our cutting-edge privacy protections give online shoppers the highest degree of protection for their credit card and other personal information. AOL is also the only global interactive services provider, offering AOL services in 16 countries in 8 languages. At the same time, AOL offers the leading local services on the World Wide Web. The Company's Digital Cities, Map Quest, and MovieFone brands that help consumers keep convenient track of what's happening in their own hometowns. .
INDUSTRY TRENDS AND FUTURE .
The Internet industry encompasses all companies engaged in creating, developing or processing electronic information through a computer network system. Many of these companies are a direct outgrowth of the computer software industry. Though the Internet is not new, growth of this industry has taken off in the past four years due to the commercialization of the World Wide Web part of the Internet. The World Wide Web allows publishers to create electronic publications with text graphics, pictures, data, and in some cases, voice over the Internet. Users with a special program called a browser allow them to access these highly specialized publications through their personal computer. Since the Internet involves no real barriers to creating publications, virtually anybody can create information and distribute it over a computer server. Internet commerce is expected to reach more than $400 billion in sales by the year 2002, according to IDC. Consumers will use this new commerce medium because it offers some comparison-shopping and convenience. Consumers can compare prices from different retailers almost instantaneously with a personal computer hooked into the Internet.