Ray Tomlinson invented internet based electronic mail or e-mail as it is commonly known as today.  He also came with the @ symbol to specify e-mail addresses, which is part of our common computer terminology today.  E-mail enables a user to send messages to another computer that is on the same network.  Tomlinson was working on modifying a computer program that he created called SNDMSG which allowed people to leave messages on one computer for other people using the same machine to see.  He integrated his own file transfer protocol called CYPNET with that program to allow people to send messages to any other computer on the ARPANET network, which was the first internet ever created.  The first electronic mail message which was exchanged between two adjacent computers read "QWERTYUIOP".  E-mail is currently one of the most popular and effective forms of communication around the world.  (See Internet and WWW.)

*Pictures from Microsoft Clip Art Gallery

Sources:
About Inc. The History of the Internet: E-mail. 12 Oct 2003. <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blinternet.htm#links>

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