Netfraternity is a project that has been developed in order to make Internet access completely free of charge. The basic idea is that advertising should cover all the costs of access for users - from the cost of the local phone call to the ISP annual subscription. Netfraternity involves advertisers and banks and a special software called Netspot. By downloading Netspot, users will receive a continual flow of advertisements (taking up 70 pixel of the user interface) independently from sites visited. The advertisement will appear on any site, chat, or other Internet program and can be used by any browser. The advertisements that appear on the user's screen will be tailored to his or her interests thanks to a questionnaire filled in prior to downloading. The Netfraternity technology allows providers to insert telematic data in the connection between client's computer and the provider's server. In fact, the transmission of Netspots takes advantage of the rest periods of the communication. The user therefore, gets free Internet access in exchange for putting up with a continuous flow of advertisement that cannot be stopped. The project has been piloted by 10,000 US users since 25 December 1997, who will be reimbursed for the entire costs of communication for an hour a day. Netfraternity intends to extend this service to include 24 hours and the rest of the world. For further information: http://www.netfraternity.net Original Source: Internet Traveller