The Internet's breathtaking newness, by now, has faded. In 2001 the Net is part of our everyday routines. Many dot-coms have fallen back to Earth.
Life goes on.
And yet, huge tracts of digital terrain remain unexplored. Brand-new industries are springing up where traditional entertainment is colliding with the Internet, as Napster forcibly raises questions about intellectual property online. Content companies are still scratching their heads about which business models work and which don't. Governments and organizations continue to wrestle with questions of Internet taxation and privacy. Here is our guide to what's in store this year for Internet entertainment and media, personal technology, politics and the international community - trends that will affect how ordinary people the world over access the Internet, and what they'll do there.