Internet creator Berners-Lee knighted

LONDON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- British physicist Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web -- or at least better access to it -- has been awarded a knighthood in London.

Without his creation, there would be no computer addresses, no e-mail and the Internet might still be the exclusive domain of a handful of computer experts, the Independent reported.

Berners-Lee, 48, was named in the New Year's Honors List for "services to the Internet" -- creating the system that has revolutionized computer use across the globe.

He devised the system in his spare time in 1991 while working as a researcher at the European particle research laboratory Cern, which is based in Switzerland.

Instead of patenting the system or restricting it use, Berners-Lee gave his invention away, making it possible for the Web to grow at a fast rate.

"I'm very honored, although it still feels strange," Berners-Lee said. "I feel like quite an ordinary person, and so the good news is that it does happen to ordinary people who work on things that happen to work out, like the Web."