The other important convention of the Web is the protocol for transmitting HTML documents to other computers. If a computer capable of recognizing HTTP receives a message in that format, it knows that the document is of a specific type, namely one that is coded as a HTML document. The Web is based on a client-server model, where information that is hosted and maintained on collections of server computers can be accessed by individual personal computers connected to the network. World Wide Web servers must be capable of responding to requests for documents, incorporating HTML documents into HTTP messages, and sending them to the client. The speed of this information exchange is determined by the number of requests received at any given time, the network communication speed or bandwidth available, and the capacity of the server to handle and process information requests.
Clients software is available for various operating systems with similar access capabilities.
The minimum hardware and software requirements for PC-based browsing through Windows are listed in Table 1 . A direct connection to the Internet is preferable to a dial-up link through a modem due to considerably improved access speed. The World Wide Web is far more interactive than paper-based media. Information on the Web is continuously expanded or updated. In some cases, users may enter opinions, send contributions, or otherwise interact with people elsewhere in the world.