The World Wide Web has brought the massive resources of the Internet into the public arena by converting the Internet’s previously unwieldy collection of keyboard commands and text-based menus into a friendly desktop interface. A large number of scientific and medical organizations have taken advantage of this development to provide information and services for their members. The success of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Web site, and the vision of past President Bob Replogle [1] for an international community of cardiothoracic surgeons, stimulated the formation of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSNet) [2] in May 1997. Together with the Community of Science, the publishing partner for CTSNet, the STS has encouraged and fostered the development of a collaborative, coordinated, and truly international Web site. The original vision of CTSNet, in Bob Replogle’s words, was “to provide a Web site for cardiothoracic surgical organizations and their members, for patients and their families, and for companies with an interest in the specialty.” To achieve this vision CTSNet provides a common platform and structure that allows individual organizations access to new technology, providing an opportunity for the organization and its members to exploit the resources of the Internet. The Internet is intimidating to many individuals, and this will inevitably be reflected in an organization’s approach to the net. To help, CTSNet provides a common point of contact for all cardiothoracic surgeons and offers the basic organizational tools for individual organizations to start using electronic data transfer to simplify routine management tasks. Although initially developed for the STS Web site, these tools have now been made available through CTSNet to other organizations of all sizes to create and manage their information flow [3]. Societies and organizations are groups of individuals with a common interest, but an organization or individual will find the Internet attractive for different reasons. For CTSNet to achieve full potential the majority of members of each constituent society should recognize the potential of new information technology, be on-line, and derive benefit and enjoyment from CTSNet. Thus the immediate thrust of CTSNet has been toward providing a site of interest to individual surgeons. Not surprisingly, the major attractions for individuals to CTSNet are the surgeon database, the online journals (The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Asian Cardiovascular & Thoracic Annals), Medline, meeting abstracts, and events. In addition, however, CTSNet provides immediacy of access to a growing scientific and clinical information resource that offers a major advantage over conventional library facilities. The Internet does not close at night and can be accessed from home or the office. It provides a ready and easy source of information for help with clinical problems 24 hours a day, and reduces that feeling of isolation when useful decision-facilitating information is not otherwise easily available. This area is growing rapidly with the introduction of Grand Rounds [4], Discussion Groups [5], a debating forum, and soon two comprehensive textbooks of different levels. These are all generic attractions that are of interest and value to cardiothoracic surgeons worldwide and are therefore attracting a growing number of visits to the site. However, national interests vary for individual surgeons and their organizations. Herein lies one of the strengths of CTSNet, which functions on a hub and spoke model with generic, worldwide interests being centralized while regional interests and local issues are focused in organizational sectors of the Web. As part of the vision of providing patient information, the hub and spoke model of CTSNet allows societies the opportunity to publish information with a local flavor in the local language. The Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (http://www.scts.org) has a society surgeon database and committee facilities that mirror at a national level the access and security model of CTSNet generally (Fig 1). What we have, in addition, is the opportunity to create new editorial content that directly reflects our national society’s surgical interests and goals. However, the information-sharing paradigm of CTSNet permits a surgeon anywhere in the world to access and use this information seamlessly. For example, David Wheatley’s Presidential Address delivered to our Society at our annual meeting in Edinburgh, and otherwise confined to a local audience, is now widely available for all to share on CTSNet (http://www.scts.org/ presidentialaddress/). To be successful an organizational site should be relevant and responsive to local issues. It should offer support for trainee surgeons by providing an avenue to reach experience and advice. To address this, our Society will be launching a site on “Clinical Issues” addressing difficult clinical dilemmas, written largely by UK surgeons with a local flavor. We will also be launching a “New Frontiers” section, which will provide articles of Address reprint requests to Mr Keogh, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom B15 2TH (e-mail: b.e.keogh@ bham.ac.uk).