Converting a long URL name into a short one. Also called "URL redirecting," there are several free URL shortening services on the Web that take a long URL, convert it to a short name and perform the redirection for the user when the short URL is clicked. For example, the URL to the file at

www.computerlanguage.com/this/is/an/example/of/a/shortURL.gif

was shortened to

www.tinyurl.com/3upa3s7.

Short URLs are widely used to slim down long URLs that are printed, but also for sending URLs in e-mail and chat messages, which often wind up as two lines of text instead of one. Although the recipient can copy the lines back together in the browser's address bar, a short URL eliminates the potential problem. Following are examples of URL shortening sites:

   URL SHORTENING SITES

   www.NotLong.com

   www.qURL.com  (Quick URL)

   www.Shorl.com  (Shorlify)

   www.SnipURL.com

   www.TinyURL.com

   www.URLcut.com

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