Since the Internet's creation, 30 years ago by the United States Department of Defense, the Net has always enjoyed a bright and secure future. Invented and implemented to save the USA's then centralized military computer system from a nuclear attack, the Net through the good judgment of the United States Department of Defense and the government's Intelligence agencies opened the Net to the academic community. No gift is free. The government thought: "Why not have the best minds communicate on the Net and develop, while we listen and watch." Even better, "why not open it up to everyone in 1994 and gather greater information and intelligence."

So back in 1995, when my good and creative friend, Arnon Katz, approached me to become Deputy Manager of Israel's first Internet commercial portal - NetKing - I knew it was a sure thing. It just took a few years to really catch on. I remember Arnon and I trying to convince potential clients of the Internet's marketing power and those companies who had the foresight to put up pages - were doing us a favor.

Today, you are nobody without a homepage! In 1995, we were practically giving sites away for a few hundred dollars - today you won't find a professional site for less than 5 to 10 thousand dollars! The Internet has become an integral part of our culture. You can't go anywhere today without seeing a website address on a Coca-Cola cup, stationery, television ads and storefront windows!

In the days ahead, we will see and use a wireless Internet (WAP) from wherever we are. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week we will be in contact by voice, text and video with our friends, family and business associates. The world really will become a smaller and more friendly place. Cultural barriers will come down as a result of understanding other cultural, commercial and religious values. E-commerce will squeeze more working hours out of our souls, put more money into our bank accounts while depriving us of "quality time" with our children, friends and family.

IPO's - yes they are and will remain a sure thing for the next few years. We are only on "first base" in this game of Internet baseball. Only fifty percent of the United States's population, less than fourteen percent of China's 1.2 billion people and much less around the world is connected as we approach and pass the millennium. Market share is still out there to grab!

Our lives will be made easier. Our homes and offices will be automated. The refrigerator will be monitored and kept fully stocked. The Internet will continue to grow and prosper for many more years.

So what's the catch? George Orwell envisioned it in his book "1984". But George was off by a few years. "Big Brother" has been created and has read this page well before you have! Paranoia? No way - I use several marketing tracking systems to monitor who and when people visit my site. I can tell you that several intelligence agencies have said "hello" to me. I don't know if they were plain stupid by leaving "footprints" or this was their educated way of saying hello from their stations in ................!

No gift is free! If we want to enjoy the fruits and the convenience of the Net while at the same time assure our privacy on the Internet, we must demand from our governments today - laws and regulations which will protect us from abuse and invasion of privacy. The same laws which protect us from a government agency from breaking into our homes without a court order or "due process" must be applied to the Net.

While I fully support international and domestic government intelligence and law enforcement organizations using the Net to apprehend terrorists and child offenders, it would be our greatest nightmare to have "Big Brother" monitoring our refrigerators, our sex lives and our commercial and personal pursuits.