What is a URL?

  URL stands for "Uniform Resource Locator". It is a draft standard for
  specifying an object on the Internet, such as a file or newsgroup.
 
  URLs look like this: (file: and ftp: URLs are synonymous.)
    * file://wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors/msdos/graphics/gifkit.zip
    * ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors
    * http://info.cern.ch:80/default.html
    * news:alt.hypertext
    * telnet://dra.com
     
 
 
  The first part of the URL, before the colon, specifies the access
  method. The part of the URL after the colon is interpreted specific to
  the access method. In general, two slashes after the colon indicate a
  machine name (machine:port is also valid).
 
  When you are told to "check out this URL", what to do next depends on
  your browser; please check the help for your particular browser. For
  the line-mode browser at CERN, which you will quite possibly use first
  via telnet, the command to try a URL is "GO URL" (substitute the
  actual URL of course). In Lynx you just select the "GO" link on the
  first page you see; in graphical browsers, there's usually an "Open
  URL" option in the menus.