Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web and director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), is being made a Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. As part of the 2004 New Year's Honours list, the Queen wishes to recognize his "services to the global development of the Internet." The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) serves as "a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding" to further the development of "interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential."