One of the most powerful features of the web is the ability to link documents together using hyperlinks. On clicking a hyperlink (usually underlined), the browser tries to access the linked document, providing an almost instantaneous cross-referencing system. This creates a non-linear form of text, known as hypertext. Web pages can also contain multimedia content that can also be hyperlinked, termed hypermedia. Many theorists believe that hyperlinks change the way we view and read texts, and certainly the element of choice that hyperlinks give the reader create a very different reading experience. The idea of hypertext has been around at least as long as books have contained footnotes or external references/bibliographies, but the computer and the Internet make following hyperlinks instantaneous (well, almost). See Chapter 4, Writing and Publishing for more discussion on this topic.