The World Wide Web will define the 21st Century, enabling people across the world to share information, build communities and express their individuality in ways that defy its origins as a tangle of telephone lines and computer codes.;Bringing together the work of scholars, experts and established online authors, this comprehensive book offers an analysis of both contemporary Web-based culture and arts and the impact of the Web on international economics, politics and law. This edition of "Web.Studies" combines updated chapters from the first edition with additional chapters on developments and controversies in cyberspace. Beginning with an introduction to the Web and how it works, the book outlines the theories and methodology of cyberculture studies, before moving on to explore aspects of everyday life online, art and commerce, global communities and the politics of internet access and activism. Readers should also find suggestions for ways in which the Web can be used to further their own research, as well as lists of useful websites.