THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER - EXPLORING AND MAPPING CYBERSPACE

To understand the dramatic changes which cyberspace is bringing to contemporary society, its size and shape need to be charted and its frontiers defined. This article defines the skeleton of cyberspace by the Internet. It presents its physical form as a network of networks, and using data relating to its geographical diffusion, its expansion and evolution are mapped. Although the Internet's growth seems orderly and predictable within limits, the article concludes by speculating that its shape could be very different in the near future as new types of user and network enrich its structure.