Cyber cafes provide internet access for a fee and can be found in many major cities. They are popular with locals and travelers and have evolved to include gaming cafes. Cyber kiosks are also available for short-term internet use in public places and hotels.
A cyber café, also often referred to as an Internet café, is a place that provides Internet access to users for a fee. It can be a restaurant, coffee shop or snack bar or simply have stations where people can connect their laptops or portable computerized devices to the internet. Connection fees are normally charged to credit or debit cards and are calculated by the minute, by the hour or by fractions of an hour.
The first Internet café network was founded in 1991 in the United States in San Francisco, California. Twenty-five coin connect terminals were placed in various cafes throughout the city and gave customers access to a local computer bulletin board where they could exchange messages. In 1992, the service expanded to include connections to Internet mail services worldwide.
Two years later, the first cyber café opened in London, England, providing full access to the Internet. Its popularity inspired numerous cyber cafe openings over the next year in various international locations. In 1997, the first cyber café dedicated to Internet gaming enthusiasts opened in Korea.
Today almost every major city in the world has a number of cyber cafés. They are generally frequented by locals who gather for personal socializing while connected to the internet. A significant number of cyber café-goers are also travelers who use public access connections to maintain contact with family and friends via email and instant messaging services. Many people use the services of the cafe to email photos of their trips home for the amusement of others.
The video game cyber café model that originated in Korea has been expanded and improved in many cities. These locations typically have custom built computers designed to host sophisticated online games. Online competitions are usually played by multiple players at the same time who are often located around the world. This gaming cafe phenomenon has greatly influenced the popularity of arcades previously frequented by gaming enthusiasts in cyberspace. A considerable number of these arcades are being considered for transformation into cyber cafes.
Around the same time that cyber cafes were gaining popularity, cyber kiosks were introduced. These Internet access booths first appeared in airports and public libraries and are often used for very short periods of time to check appointments and information on the go. Similar connections are generally available to guests of resorts, motels, hotels and cruise lines who pay a fixed or hourly rate for the convenience. Many of these guest connections also offer the option of wireless Internet access.
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