The MIT Scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has been awarded the first Millennium Technology Prize. The award, a euro1 million cash prize, equivalent to $1.2 million, is among the largest of its kind, and was awarded for the first time. It was established in 2002 and backed by the Finnish government.
The prize committee on Thursday said Berners-Lee"s contribution strongly embodied the spirit of the award, given "for an innovation that directly promotes people"s quality of life, is based on humane values, and encourages sustainable economic development." Pekka Tarjanne, chairman of the prize committee, underlined the importance of Berner-Lee"s decision to never strive to commercialize or patent his contributions to the Internet technologies he has developed.