These days everyone knows that you can shop online, attend university classes, chat, listen to music and read your favourite newspaper via the Internet.

But, what is the most overlooked area of the Web? What else can people do online that they are missing out on? Recently Gary Price, an expert on online databases and search tools who coined the term "invisible Web'', was asked this question.

He answered: "Most Web users do not realise that there is a vast and growing amount of information available on the Web in audio and video format.

"Not only can you read the Washington Post for DC area information but you can watch the local ABC affiliates evening newscast.

"Interested in British and world affairs? "How about watching the BBC Evening News? "Missed an `All Things Considered' segment? "All of these programmes are available back to 1995.

"The challenge for professionals and users alike'', Mr. Price continued, "is to be aware of this constantly growing body of information and to develop tools to make access to the material as fast and easy as possible.'' To this end, Mr. Price has compiled a list of links to audio and video sources that report current events at: http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/(tithe)gprice/audio.htm.

The list focuses on news and public affairs services available in English.

In most cases these links will take you directly to the service (it will start playing immediately) or to within one click.

But, multimedia on the Web is not just limited to current, worldwide news.

You can download audio and video of almost anything your are interested in.

Old TV shows, music videos, a clip of your favourite actor winning an Oscar or you can listen to Winston Churchill instead of just reading his speeches.

In short, you do not need to be sitting in front of your TV or listening to your radio to get many of your favourite programmes.

The programmes you get are no longer limited to the programmes your satellite dish can pick up.

If your favourite old TV show or cartoon is no longer on cable, check out: www.liketelevision.com to see if you can watch it online.

If you're in the mood for a movie, but you're not sure if you want to see one of the movies currently playing in Bermuda, you can watch movie previews at http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Trailers.

If you know that you don't want to see what is playing on the Island, check out www.ifilm.com and www.mvrcflms.com to watch independent films like `The Blair Witch Project' online.

So, why aren't Web users taking more advantages of the audio and video resources on the Web? There are two reasons.

The first reason is referred to as the "World Wide Wait'' and the second reason is the plug-in puzzle.

*** High-speed access for the home: ending the World Wide Wait.

Imagine a world where connecting to the Internet was as simple as turning on your television and where Web pages popped instantly onto your screen and files downloaded in scant seconds.

OK, stop imagining -- in many places in the US, the World Wide Wait is over.

And high-speed Internet access does not cost much more than you're currently spending for dial-up access.

There are several ways to connect to the Internet at high speeds but the two most common for home use in the US are through a cable TV modem or through a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) telephone connection.

Each mode has advantages and disadvantages.

Cable modems use your existing cable TV connection and allow you to connect to the 'Net at a potential rate of up to three million bps (bits per second).

Contrast this with the 28 or 56 thousand bps modem that you are currently using.

Cable modems rarely work at their maximum capacity, however, because they share bandwidth with other modems using the same cable in your neighbourhood.

If several of your neighbours are online you'll see a performance decline.

Still, the connection will be much faster than a 56K-dial-up connection.

DSL lines, on the other hand, are yours alone, just like the ordinary telephone line into your house.

Instead of using the line that brings cable TV into your house, DSL uses telephone lines.

DSL offers speeds between 384K (thousand) and several million bps.

You may see DSL called ADSL.

The `A' stands for Asynchronous, meaning that "downstream'' speeds are much faster than "upstream'' speeds.

This is because Web pages or files coming down to your computer are much larger than the typical tiny package of commands you send upstream when you click on a link.

When comparing performance, your downstream connection speed is the important factor.

BTC plans on offering DSL, but until they offer it you can get ISDN for high-speed Internet access if you live within 1,800 feet of a telephone switching station, and most people in Bermuda do, although there are exceptions such as White Hill in Sandy's Parish.

ISDN was the first high-speed Internet access that was cost-effective for home users.

ISDN, like DSL, uses phone lines, but you can only get a maximum of 128K (thousand) bps through it.

DSL is more cost-effective to implement than ISDN because DSL is an "always-on'' technology.

ISDN is "dialled up'' like a standard phone line and you are billed by the minute.

DSL is always in an active state and the user is normally billed a flat monthly rate, but as with ISDN, you have to live within 1,800 feet of a telephone switching station to use DSL technology.

*** Plug-ins: the puzzle solved.

A "plug-in'' is a smaller add-on program that enhances the capabilities of the larger program that it is "plugged'' in to.

Just as you need special equipment to play videotapes, cassettes or CDs, you need special viewers, or plug-ins, to see and hear some information on the Web.

Chances are that you've already encountered a Web site that has flashed a warning window stating that you need to download this or that plug-in to see something on a Web page.

A Web browser is like a new car without any of the extras such as air conditioning.

Your Web browser works, but it is not as convenient as having all the extras.

There are four basic plug-ins that you should download for your Web browser.

All of these plug-ins have versions that you can download for free.

Three of them will enable you to view multimedia on the Web and the fourth one will let you view and print documents without requiring you to own a copy of the program that was used to create them.

QuickTime -- download it from: www.apple.com/quicktime.

QuickTime lets you experience more than 200 kinds of digital media for video, sound, animation, graphics, music and even 360-degree virtual reality (VR) scenes.

QuickTime has become the most popular distributed media technology for MP3 and MIDI, on Windows and Mac OS-based computers.

RealPlayer Basic -- download it from: www.real.com/player and click on the link "RealPlayer 8 Basic''.

RealPlayer works a lot like a CD and/or tape player and supports lots of different popular multimedia file formats: .wav, .avi, .mov, .mpg, .mp3, .au, aiff and others.

What this means is that you'll be able to play (listen and/or watch) most multimedia presentations.

RealPlayer has all sorts of configuration options.

You can set up your player to receive various "channels''.

Much like a TV or radio, you tune in to say, `Comedy World' and you'll see video and hear audio from that station.

Shockwave and Flash Player -- download it from http://sdc.shockwave.com/shockwave/d ownload.

With Macromedia Shockwave Player, you can enjoy multimedia games, learning applications and product demonstrations on the Web.

Macromedia Shockwave Player includes Macromedia Flash Player.

Adobe Acrobat Reader -- download from www.adobe.com/products/acrobat and click the "Downloads'' link.

Adobe Acrobat allows you to view and print PDF files from your computer.

This plug-in is often needed to read and print long text documents and files created with applications you would normally need in order to view them.

PDF files allow documents to be created with any application but then viewed by anyone with Acrobat Reader.

With these plug-ins you will be prepared to view a large majority of the multimedia content available on the Web.

You can access all of this multimedia with your existing dial-up connection but you will need to be patient, until faster solutions such as DSL or cable modems become available locally.

Don't limit your Web experience to just text and graphics.

The "multi'' in multimedia is much larger than this.

A whole world of content waits to enrich our personal and professional lives.

*** Michelle Swartz's column appears on the first and third Wednesday of every month in The Royal Gazette's Personal Technology section. She can be reached at michelle ychristers.net