- Tim Berners-Lee, the publicity-shy physicist who invented
the world wide web, has been awarded a knighthood.
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- An unsung hero of the modern age, Mr Berners-Lee is named
in today's New Year's Honours List for "services to the internet"
- creating the system that has revolutionised computer use across the globe.
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- The system, which he devised in his spare time in 1991
while working as a researcher at the European particle research laboratory
Cern, features billions of web pages used by hundreds of millions of people
every day.
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- Crucially, Mr Berners-Lee gave his invention away rather
than trying to patent or restrict its use, making it possible for the web
to grow at a rate never seen. Without his creation, there would be no "www"
computer addresses, and the internet might still be the exclusive domain
of a handful of computer experts.
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- In typically modest fashion, the 48-year-old Briton was
at pains yesterday to point out that he did not invent the internet itself,
but instead devised a method for more easily accessing what was there.
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- "I'm very honoured, although it still feels strange.
I feel like quite an ordinary person and so the good news is that it does
happen to ordinary people who work on things that happen to work out, like
the web," he said.
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- Mr Berners-Lee is one of the least glitzy names in an
honours list shot through with New Labour's characteristic emphasis on
pop, sport and celebrity. There are CBEs for Ray Davies of The Kinks; Stephen
Daldry, the director of Billy Elliot; the rock star Eric Clapton; and the
best-selling children's author Philip Pullman.
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- As in recent years, there is a strong political emphasis
on public services, with knighthoods for teachers who turned around failing
schools, and CBEs for nurses, cancer specialists and others in the NHS.
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- An MBE was given to Inspector Paul Cahill, the chairman
of the Gay Police Association, for helping to modernise attitudes within
the police force.
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- The entire England rugby team is honoured for its World
Cup victory, with a knighthood for Clive Woodward, the head coach. Martin
Johnson, the captain, is made a CBE and Jonny Wilkinson an OBE.
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- Among the foreign and diplomatic list, one of the most
interesting awards is a CMG to Alastair Crooke, the MI6 agent who acted
as a link man between militant Palestinians and the Israeli Government.
Harold Evans, a former editor of The Times, is knighted.
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- The list comprises 981 names, of which 480 or 47 per
cent are nominated by members of the public, slightly down on last year.
Services to the community, including police and local councils, make up
30 per cent of the total, by far the biggest proportion. Business and science
make up 20 per cent, education and health 10 per cent each, the arts 8
per cent and sport 7 per cent.
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- This year's list has attracted unprecedented attention
because of leaked Cabinet Office documents revealing how honours are awarded.
As predicted, Tim Henman, who civil servants said would "add interest"
to the list, is granted an OBE. Similarly, Simon Jenkins, The Times columnist
whom officials said would add gravitas, is knighted. Colin Blakemore, the
neuroscientist who was considered too controversial for an honour, is not
included.
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- The leaks also showed how many people in public life
had rejected honours they deemed old fashioned and linked to the former
British empire. Among those who turned down awards were David Bowie, Nigella
Lawson and David Hockney.
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- A review of the system is under way to overhaul the secrecy
and selection methods of those suitable for awards. Tony Blair's spokeswoman
said: "It is important to achieve greater transparency and a greater
independent input."
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- The knighthood for Mr Berners-Lee will help to restore
the credibility of the system. Although he could have made a personal fortune
in the private sector, he earns an academic salary as the head of the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in Boston.
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- "To a certain extent it's an acknowledgement of
the profession as well, that it's useful and creditable and not a passing
trend. There was a time when people felt the internet was another world,
but now people realise it's a tool that we use in this world," Mr
Berners-Lee said yesterday.
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- © 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=477114
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