The World Internet Project (WIP) originated at the UCLA Center for Communication Policy in 1999. Founded by Jeffrey Cole, the project is aiming to explain how the Internet is changing the world by the means of questionnaire survey. It differs from other Internet research in the following ways:

l It examines not only Internet usage but also the social impact.

l There are equal focus on Internet users and non-users.

l Longitudinal research tracks behavioral and attitudinal changes.

l It represents a worldwide effort to study and compare changes in different countries and regions.

 

All the WIP participants share about 30 core questions, and conduct their Internet survey independently considering different situation and contexts of the countries or districts. Up to now, more than 20 countries or districts have joined in the project, including the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Chile, Spain, etc. The preliminary findings of the international comparative study were released at the beginning of 2004.

 

The WIP participants and their address are partly listed at the following URL: