Sip 'n Surf - The Wired World Of Cyber Cafes

From the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to the small town of Monon, Indiana and the bustling streets of London you will find them, with techno-trendy names as "Planet Access," "Electric Grind," and "The Interactive Bean."

On the outside they appear quaint enough, like any other neighborhood gathering place serving espresso or latte and a luncheon-style menu - except for the bank of computers and patrons who are busy checking stock quotes or playing the newest shareware game. Of course this is no ordinary eatery. Welcome to the cyber cafe.

You'll find them throughout the world, from obscure mom-and-pop operations with perhaps one terminal to super-emporiums like Cybersmith in Cambridge,Massachusetts that provide 53 ready and waiting computers for their net-savvy customers.

Most establishments charge a nominal fee for access to the net while others offer the service free with a food and drink purchase. However they work, the notion of drawing people away from in front of their computer screens at home and into a place of business to munch on a corned beef sandwich or down a cappuccino - all the while seated in front of yet another computer screen - has caught on big. Cyber cafes now number in the thousands, and their clientele is as diverse as their locales. At La Ciberteca in Madrid, Spain, you're as likely to find a member of the suit and tie crowd logging-on along side teenagers in cutoffs as you would at Jitters Internet Cafe in Denver.

Customers flock for the extras as well. Cyber Java in Los Angeles features videophone facilities. Cyber Cafe, located in Manhattan's SoHo district, offers classes in Net navigation and Web-page authoring, and the aforementioned Cybersmith comes boasts a virtual-reality flight simulater.

New to the Internet? No need to feel out of place. Many proprietors note that novices are some of their most loyal customers and blend in just fine with more experienced surfers who come together, round-table fashion, for tech-talk or to debate the merits of various web sites and singles who find the surroundings and relaxed atmosphere a congenial place to mingle.

In Midtown Manhattan, Orthodox Jews fill the IDT Mega-Bite Cafe to enjoy the strictly vegetarian bill of fare in what is widely regarded as the first kosher cyber cafe. Food purchases of six dollars or more earns 30 free minutes of online time, after that, surfing time runs $6 per half-hour.

Has all that time spent indoors surfing reduced your complexion to a shade that makes an albino look like a bronze god? Not if you're a resident of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, where Jay and Jane Griffel, owners of Golden Tan Hot Buns & Beans, have installed six tanning beds to accompany a full line espresso bar and a choice of tasty cinnamon rolls, muffins, and croissants - all yours to enjoy while cruising the Web and sampling a fresh roasted vanilla ice at Kenai's first internet cafe.

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