Cybercafe is a place to use computers to access the Internet, play games, create documents, chat with friends using voice and video, as well as a host of other computer-related tasks. Typically, computer and Internet access are provided for an hourly or daily fee.
The cybercafe first came into existence in July 1991 in San Francisco, when Wayne Gregori launched the SFnet Coffeehouse Network. He built and assembled 25 coin-operated computer stations in various cafes in San Francisco. Café Binario was the first Internet Cafe in Canada, launched in June 1994. Today, there are thousands of Internet Cafes around the world, providing the computer and Internet access that people need for their everyday lives.
Cybercafe are found all over the world and many people use them when they travel to access webmail and instant messaging services to keep in touch with family and friends. Apart from travelers, in many developing countries Internet cafes are the main form of Internet access for citizens, as a shared access model is more affordable than personal ownership of equipment and / or software. A variation on the Internet café business model is the LAN game center, used for multiplayer games. These cafes have several computer stations connected to a LAN.
Connected computers are custom assembled for gaming, supporting popular multiplayer games. This reduces the need for video games and arcade games, many of which are being shut down or merged into internet cafes. The use of internet cafes for multiplayer games is particularly popular in certain areas of Asia such as India, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the Philippines. In some countries, since virtually all centers play in LANThey also offer Internet access, the terms net cafe and LAN gaming center have become interchangeable. Again, this shared access model is more affordable than personal equipment and / or software ownership, especially since games often require expensive, high-end computers.
