Hyperspeed web plans unveiled

The internet could soon be replaced by a lightning-fast service known as the "grid", which is 10,000 times faster than existing broadband networks.

Scientists from Cern, the particle physics laboratories in Switzerland where the web was first developed, are working on the next-generation service which would allow films and music catalogues to be downloaded within seconds.

David Britton, professor of physics at Glasgow University and a key figure in the grid project, said grid technology could change society.

"With this kind of computing power, future generations will have the ability to collaborate and communicate in ways older people like me cannot even imagine," said Prof Britton.

The grid will be activated this summer at the same time as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a new particle accelerator designed to investigate how the universe began, is switched on.

The grid, which has been built from modern fibre-optic cables, is already installed on 55,000 servers, a figure which is expected to rise to 200,000 within the next two years.

Britain has 8,000 of these servers meaning access could be available to universities as early as this autumn.

http://gridcafe.web.cern.ch/gridcafe