What is the Internet, and where does the Web fit into it?

Although for many of us the Internet has appeared on the scene in the last few years, it has been around for a lot longer than that; the origins can be traced back to the late 1960s. The American military wanted to have some way of being able to talk to itself in the event of World War 3, and an effective communication system was designed by American academics, who were also quick to see the value of such a system for themselves.