Father of Web tells Russia's Putin: Internet is not a 'CIA project'

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: Berners-Lee said the Internet was invented with the help of US state funding, but was spread by academics.

LONDON: The inventor of the World Wide Web said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was incorrect when he alleged the Internet was a project created by US spies in the Central Intelligence Agency. 

Putin, a former KGB spy who does not use e-mail, has said he will not restrict Internet access for Russians, but in April he stoked concerns that the Kremlin might seek to crackdown by saying the Internet was born out of a "CIA project".