As much as the Internet is savaged as a venue for pornography, gambling, and cybercrime, the World Wide Web is by far the most efficient information gathering tool ever invented. Historians a century from now may consider it more important in the expansion of human knowledge than the development of the movable type press.

POLICE Magazine is about to become part of the next wave of Web-based content. By the time you read this editorial, we will have launched a new PoliceMag.com featuring breaking news updates, an archive of back issues that can be accessed by subscribers, and a revamped online forum that will include sections that can only be accessed by sworn law enforcement personnel.

We're also launching six channels of original content produced just for our Website by some of the leading authorities on police operations, training, and intelligence. Each of these articles will offer you the opportunity to comment on them almost instantaneously. And you will want to do so, because we've lined up a staff of online contributors who have remarkable and sometimes controversial views on the state of contemporary law enforcement.

Associate Editor Dean Scoville, a 25-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, will helm our Patrol channel, writing about techniques and tactics as well as the culture of patrol. He will be joined on this channel by Det. Dan Pasquale of the Tracy (Calif.) Police Department and Lt. Mark Stainbrook of the LAPD.

On our Gangs channel, retired L.A. County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Richard Valdemar will tap his decades of experience in anti-gang operations to cover such topics as gang culture, gang histories, how to gather intel on gangs in your area, and effective anti-gang tactics. You can also use a link on the channel to send Richard a question about gangs and gang symbols. This means that regardless of where you work, you can access the expertise of a gang authority.

The SWAT channel is anchored by Robert "Bob" O'Brien, retired commander of Cleveland SWAT, long-time member of the TREXPO Advisory Board, and a SWAT trainer. It will cover the culture of SWAT, specific tactics and techniques, new products for SWAT operations, and SWAT training. Some of this content is law enforcement sensitive, so access to it will be restricted to people who carry a badge.

For the Trainers and Training channel, we have tapped the experience of Steve Ashley, a veteran cop, an ILEETA board member, and a very respected police trainer. Steve will write about training techniques, training aids, training safety, and about how to train police officers.

Rob Pincus, director of the Valhalla Training Center and author of "Combat Focus Shooting," is our Firearms and Firearms Tactics editor. Rob will write about techniques, tactics, training, guns, and gun accessories.

Some of you may have seen our new magazine POLICE RECRUIT. The mission of this publication is to disseminate quality information out to officers who are in the academy or just beginning their careers. We couldn't have asked for a better writer for our new Police Recruit Web Channel than Bill Harvey. As an FTO, as an FTO trainer, and now as a chief, Bill has been helping mold young cops for decades. On our Police Recruit channel he will tell new cops how to succeed, how to get the most out of their training, and talk about the things only veteran cops know about life on the job.

In addition to these channels, we are working to develop more content, more channels, and a staff-written blog.

We are really excited about the new PoliceMag.com. Check it out and let us know what you think by posting comments at the bottom of the channel articles.

By the time you read this editorial, we will have launched a new PoliceMag.com.