The Internet is reaching a number of milestones near the end of 2007.

Results from a Harris Poll conducted in July and October indicate nearly 80 percent of American adults - 178 million people - regularly go online these days, usually for about 11 hours a week (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=827).

A similar poll by Harris in 1995 found only 18 million Americans were online.

Demographically, the Harris poll suggests the online population is starting to mirror the real-world population. For example, 25 percent of those online are between 18 and 29 years of age. In the real world, people between 18 and 29 make up 22 percent of the U.S. population.

Once considered the playground of the young, educated, wealthy and geeky, the online world is now populated by, well, the general real-world population.

Interestingly, based on U.S. Census Bureau statistics, 25 percent of all Americans alive at this moment have never known a world without the Internet and Internet access. That represents 75 million Americans who consider going online as natural as turning on the TV or cooking something in the microwave oven.

Worldwide, Internet World Stats (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm) reports there are 1.2 billion Internet users on the planet Earth. Depending on which research you cite, we hit this significant mark either last year or earlier this year.

Online ad spending hit a record $16 billion dollars in 2006. And for the first three quarters of 2007, nearly $13 billion has already been spent on online advertising - and the busiest season for online ads and ad revenue is just beginning (http://www.iab.net/news/pwc2007.asp).

So, the obvious can be stated with confidence: The Internet is no passing fad - it's here in a big way.

It's affecting the way we shop. People are not only buying products online, they're also using the Internet to order daily or mundane things such as groceries and pizzas for delivery.

The Internet is affecting local businesses, too, but in perhaps unexpected ways. True, online shopping may be taking a bite out of hometown generated revenue. But on the other hand, research indicates many people are going online to find product information to help them make purchasing decisions that are then carried out at hometown "brick and mortar" stores (http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3588131).

How many people? According to a 2006 Post Holiday Online Shopping Study, 47 percent of Internet users who reported researching products online during the holiday season bought those products offline at a physical store, by phone or through some other offline channel.

This nearly matches the results of a MarketTools survey last month that indicated 48 percent of those who do product research online take that research with them into brick and mortar stores to shop (http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/CLTU01920112007-1.htm).

In other words, the Internet may be helping to put some money into local business coffers.

Speaking of online shopping, today is "Cyber Monday," the first Monday after Thanksgiving, which is to the online shopping world what "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, is to the brick and mortar shopping world.

Since 2005, Cyber Monday has been the heaviest day for online traffic as people scour the Net for popular products, lowest prices and free shipping. After three days of real-world shopping, people start looking online for what they couldn't find offline.

The term "Cyber Monday" was coined in 2005 by Shop.com (http://www.shop.com), an online retail product and retail Web site clearinghouse.

Innovate ND

The deadline to enter the Innovate North Dakota competition is this Friday (http://www.innovatend.com).

Called a "venture competition," the idea is to help North Dakotans turn ideas into new business ventures. The first phase of the competition, Round 1, involves explaining your idea or concept and your strategy for turning the idea into a profitable, growing venture.

Those entries will be judged and winnowed down before moving on to Round 2.

The final winner of the competition will receive up to $10,000 in cash prizes and business services to launch and grow the business.

Keep in mind, however, there is a $100 registration fee - this isn't a freebie competition.

Go to the Innovate North Dakota site for details. But hurry - you have until the end of the week to enter.

Some sites to see

Cliff Cogdill, of Bismarck, found an interesting, interactive Web site that lets you build a digital body double to try on clothing.

"Basically in a nutshell, you can create a virtual model with your measurements and try clothes on from various online stores (JC Penney, Sears, etc.," Cogdill writes. "It gives you the ability to see what various outfits will look like without having to actually try them on."

The site is called "My Virtual Model" and can be found at http://www.mvm.com/en/index.htm.

Jason Lueder, of Mandan, who labors with me at the Bismarck Tribune in the online world, suggested the vicarious thrill of digital demolition at the Stanley Fubar site (http://www.stanleyfubar.com).

This interactive promotion page lets you choose one of five objects for a four-man wrecking crew to destroy using the Stanley Fubar tool. Here's a tip: If you want to make the wrecking crew mad, click the bunny. You can also view the fubar from various "in your face" angles. It's a simple, clever product promo site that will entertain you for a few minutes.

(Keith Darnay is the webmaster and designer for bismarcktribune.com. His Web site, featuring this column going back to 1995, is at http://www.darnay.com.iec.)