Internet pioneer dies

JON POSTEL, the Internet pioneer who wielded enormous influence managing technical details of the global computer network, has died of complications following heart surgery in Los Angeles. He was 55.

Mr Postel died on Friday night while recovering from surgery to replace a leaking heart valve, said Vint Cerf, a senior vice-president for MCI Worldcom Inc, who worked closely with Mr Postel.

Though Mr Postel was hardly known outside high-tech circles, his role as director of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority allowed the Internet to match unique numerical addresses for computers on the global network with its millions of Web addresses.

So powerful was Postel that The Economist once dubbed him "god" of the Internet. AP

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