No Joke, Al Gore deserves some thanks for the Internet

Gore infamously said in a CNN interview he "took the initiative in creating the internet." But all those people out there who continuosly attacked Gore for saying this.... must now shut up!

In fact, organizers for the Webby Awards for online achievements agree.

In part to "set the record straight," they will give Gore a lifetime achievement award for three decades of contributions to the Internet, said Tiffany Shlain, the awards' founder and chairwoman.

"It's just one of those instances someone did amazing work for three decades as congressman, senator and vice president and it got spun around into this political mess," Shlain said.

Vint Cerf, undisputedly one of the Internet's key inventors, will give Gore the award at a June 6 ceremony in New York. "He is indeed due some thanks and consideration for his early contributions," Cerf said.

But after joining Congress eight years later, he promoted high-speed telecommunications for economic growth and supported funding increases for the then-fledging network, according to the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which presents the annual awards.

As vice president, he popularized the term "information superhighway."