Internet Cafe
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Internet access for a fee, usually per hour or minute; sometimes one can have unmetered access with a pass for a day or month, etc. It may or may not serve as a regular café as well, with food and drinks being served. In South Korea they are called PC bang.
They are located world-wide, and most people use them when travelling to access webmail and instant messengers to keep in touch with family and friends. Internet cafes are also useful for making travel arrangements such as booking flights on a low-cost carrier. Some of them are also used for multiplayer gaming, having several computer stations connected on a LAN. In this case, the computers are specially assembled for gameplay, supporting popular multiplayer games.
There are also Internet access points in public places like airport halls, sometimes just for brief use while standing.
The easyInternetcafé chain discontinued its CD burning services because it was held responsible for copyright violations by clients.
Internet cafes are a natural evolution of the traditional cafe. Cafes started as places for information exchange, and have always been used as places to read the paper, send postcards home, play traditional or electronic games, chat to friends, find out local information. Cafes have also been in the forefront of promoting new technologies, for example, the car in 1950s California.
Internet cafes come in a wide range of styles, reflecting their location, main clientele, and sometimes, the social agenda of the proprietors. In the early days they were important in projecting the image of the Internet as a 'cool' phenomena.
As internet access is in increasing demand, many pubs, bars and cafes have terminals, so the distinction between the internet cafe and normal cafe is eroded.
In most developing countries Internet cafes are the main locations for people to access the internet . In countries with censoring regimes such as China or Singapore, Internet cafes are closely controlled. In some places computers are in booths to allow private access to pornography. In some areas of Los Angeles they are controlled because they attract street gangs. While most internet cafes are private businesses many have been set up to help bridge the 'digital divide', providing computer access and training to those without home access. For example, the UK government has supported the setting up of 6000 telecentres.
Internet cafes in the United Kingdom
On September 1, 2004 the press covered the 10th anniversary of the UK's Internet Cafes, citing Cyberia in London's West End as the first establishment to be so named.
See also
- Wifi-cafe, about places where people can connect a brought-along notebook or PDA using the cafe's wireless access to the Internet.
