The Internet technology was created by Vinton Cerf in early 1973 as part of a project headed by Robert Kahn and conducted by the Advanced Research Projects Agency, part of the United States Department of Defence. Later Cerf made many efforts to build and standardise the Internet. In 1984 the technology and the network were turned over to the private sector and to government scientific agencies for further development. The growth has continued exponentially. Service-provider companies that make «gateways» to the Internet available to home and business users enter the market in ever-increasing numbers. By early 1995, access was available in 180 countries and more than 30 million users used the Internet. The Internet and its technology continue to have a profound effect in promoting the exchange of information, making possible rapid transactions among businesses, and supporting global collaboration among individuals and organisations. More than 100 million computers are connected via the global Internet in 2000, and even more are attached to enterprise internets. The development of the World Wide Web leads to the rapid introduction of new business tools and activities that may lead to annual business transactions on the Internet worth hundreds of billions of dollars.