Move over internet. Internet2 has arrived. According to a bi-annual survey presented to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Oct. 6, more than 25,000 K-12 schools, libraries, and museums in 34 states have graduated to the supped-up internet backbone, which works at a hundred times the speed of the fastest T1 line.

Led by more than 200 U.S. universities working with industry and government partners, the Internet2 project was conceived seven years ago as a way to deploy advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education, in effect creating a super-fast, "next-generation" internet.

The survey, conducted by Internet2 members to assess the adoption of the technology in educational institutions across the U.S., indicates K-12 schools have been actively partnering with member universities to tap into the nationwide Abilene network, a 10 gigabits-per-second backbone used to access virtual laboratories, digital libraries, distance-education facilities, and tele-immersion projects.

"Internet2 has been working diligently with the state education networks across the country to bring next-generation internet capabilities to the K-20 community," said Louis Fox, executive director of the Internet2 K-20 Initiative and vice provost of the University of Washington. "Through this program, we have begun to enable participants to leverage the latest in networking technology to collaborate, share experiences, and learn from one another in real-time."

Proponents of the next-generation technology contend access to high-performance networking provides teachers and students opportunities they could barely imagine with today's commercial internet.

During his presentation to the FCC, Fox cited examples of how Internet2 connectivity is beginning to change the face of education, giving schools unfettered access to high-quality video and conferencing tools. Unlike the traditional internet, where video sometimes appears sluggish and delayed, he said, video via Internet2 is crisp and clear, enabling students to view full-screen images without the blurriness attributed to lower-speed connections.

From the safety of their own classrooms, students today are using the technology to study real-life strands of the West Nile Virus as they appear under an electron microscope--or to explore underwater volcanoes off of the Pacific coast.

Through an Internet2 initiative sponsored by the nonprofit JASON Project, for instance, students are invited to go on a deep-sea dive with professional explorers and ask questions about what they are seeing in real time.

With Internet2, "students make the great leap from studying science to being scientists," Fox explained. And video-quality, he said, is just the beginning.

The technology also has provided a tremendous opportunity for students and teachers to gather online and interact with people from all corners of the world, he said.