rofl@sir tim
Knighthood for 'father of the Web'
Wednesday, December 31, 2003 Posted: 11:08 AM EST (1608 GMT)
Berners-Lee believed the Internet should be free for everyone.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The computer wizard dubbed the "father of the World Wide Web" is to receive a knighthood for services to the Internet.
Tim Berners-Lee invented the information superhighway known as the Web, which allows anyone with a computer and browser to use the Internet. Famously, he created it in his spare time, and gave it away for free.
The England rugby team and rock star Eric Clapton were among others named in the New Year's honors list on Wednesday. (Sports, music stars honored)
Berners-Lee is to become a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) on the diplomatic list for services to the global development of the Internet.
As a British citizen, Berners-Lee will be able to use the title "Sir Tim."
The modest, publicity-shy physicist, now 48 and based in the U.S., is at pains to point out that he did not invent the Internet itself and insists he is "quite an ordinary person."
But without his creation -- which spawned billions of web pages used by hundreds of millions of computer users -- there would be no www computer addresses and the Internet might still be the exclusive domain of a handful of computer experts.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe...man/index.html