You are looking at this site on a Web Browser. Web pages are written in a computer language called HTML (Hypertext Mark-Up Language). A Web Browser is a piece of software that interprets HTML files and other computer languages and displays the results on your screen. If you've got a sound card you will also be able to get audio effects via your web browser.

If you have a PC with the Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000 or Vista then you should already have a web browser. The chances are it's called Microsoft Internet Explorer. You won't necessarily have the most recent version which, at the time of writing, is V6. However, if you are looking at this site on someone else's machine, and you haven't got an Internet Service Provided yet, you may find that the company you choose will provide you with an upgrade to the latest version of MS Internet Explorer with their software. There are other Web Browsers. If you choose AOL as a service provider, the one that had Connie in their television adverts, for example, you will get Netscape Navigator with their software package. You can, of course, buy other Web Browsers and install them yourself. Firefox and Mosaic are other well known browsers.

One of the problems that web designers have to wrestle with is that different web browsers interpret HTML files in different ways so the results, even on the latest versions of browser software will be slightly different between say Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. We try to steer a middle path. People with out of date browsers may get drastic results from modern web sites but fortunately it is possible to upgrade the popular browsers for free.