ABSTRACT
Interactive media are the presentational media that include hypertext, hypermedia, multimedia resources, Web-based resources and Internet-delivered television. They share the core common property that they are essentially linear media delivered in an open, user-controlled environment, either by disc or over a network. Being essentially linear, they offer a given text, in its widest sense, that remains unchanged by the user. The environment in which they are delivered, offering open access to any part of the material, in any sequence, lends them a degree of userresponsiveness that has earned these media the epithet ‘interactive’. The term was formerly applied to media which supported reciprocal action, implying an equality between the participant and the medium which these media cannot aspire to. However, the word has now become a term of art, and its meaning has moved on. ‘Interactive’ now refers to a medium in which the user can navigate and select content at will. The content may be text, graphics, audio, video, or any combination.
