In past centuries, many of those who had a fluent command of two, three of even more languages (or dialects) were largely illiterate in the sense of having difficulty in reading and writing texts printed on paper. By contrast, the bi- or multilingualism which the modern world demands through education at school requires not only an oral-aural proficiency in two or more languages, but also bi- or multi-literacy involving the new technologies. Computers and the internet have created many new types of everyday language-use involving reading and writing, often in combination with static and moving visuals and sounds of many different sorts. Literacy is therefore not just the capacity to read traditionally printed text and write letters, essays and articles on paper by hand or machine. It is now much more multi-faceted and has become a major core skill in instant communication within networks stretching across the world.