Cities worldwide celebrate OneWebDay

Friday marks the first OneWebDay, a global awareness event to "create, maintain, advance and promote a global day to celebrate online life."

According to the event's Web site, virtual celebrations will be held in the "Second Life" online environment, and there will be real-world celebrations around the globe. The world's largest online photo collaboration is also being attempted by photo-sharing facility Webshots. (Webshots is owned by CNET Networks, the publisher of both News.com and ZDNet UK.)

"The Internet has become such a ubiquitous force in our lives that it's easy to forget how it has changed the world," said OneWebDay's founder, Susan Crawford, associate professor at the Cardozo School of Law, in New York City.

"We shouldn't take the Internet for granted, and we should do everything we can to make it more visible to people around the globe. OneWebDay provides an opportunity to celebrate the Web, both online and in public events in cities around the world," Crawford said.

Other Web personalities to get involved in OneWebDay include Craig Newmark of Craigslist.org and Drew Schutte of Wired magazine, while a Friday celebration in Boston will honor the biggest Internet personality of all, World Wide Web pioneer Tim Berners-Lee.

The organizers have suggested a variety of ways in which to participate, including making an entry for your neighborhood on Wikipedia, showing your grandmother how to blog, running a virtual meeting for your telecummuting colleagues and teaching your boss how to use instant messaging.

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.