Measuring and Mapping the World Wide Web through Web Hyperlinks

The Internet is one of the newest and most powerful media that enables the transmission of digital information and communication across the world, although there is still a digital divide between and within countries for its availability, access, and use. To a certain extent, the level and rate of Web diffusion reflects its nature as a complex structure subject to positive network externalities and to an exponential number of potential interactions among individuals using the Internet. In addition, the Web is a network that evolves dynamically over time, and hence it is important to define its nature, its main characteristics, and its potential.