如今,买电脑和上网的人越来越多,专家预言,网络媒体可能在新世纪的前10年～20年内超过报刊、广播、电视而跃居第一位。被称之为“第四媒体”的网络媒体,确实具有其独特的优势,它不仅速度快,内容广泛,容量特大,而且集文字、声音、图像于一身,既可调集图片资料又可以观赏现场直播。有人为此作过对比,不同媒体从出现到5,000万受众的时间:收音机是38年,电视13年,有线电视10年,国际互联网5年。 Nowadays, there are more and more people who buy computers and access the Internet. Experts predict that online media may overtake newspapers, radio and television in the first 10 to 20 years of the new century. Network media, which is called “Fourth Media”, does have its own unique advantages. It is not only fast, broad in content and large in capacity, but also integrates texts, sounds and images into one. Watch the live broadcast. Some people have compared this to the 50 million audiences from different media outlets: 38 years for radios, 13 years for television, 10 years for cable television and 5 years for the Internet.