There are a number of ways to investigate the structure, function and evolu
tion of the human genome. These include examining the morphology of normal
and abnormal chromosomes, constructing maps of genomic landmarks, following
the genetic transmission of phenotypes and DNA sequence variations, and ch
aracterizing thousands of individual genes. To this list we can now add the
elucidation of the genomic DNA sequence, albeit at 'working draft' accurac
y. The current challenge is to weave together these disparate types of data
to produce the information infrastructure needed to support the next gener
ation of biomedical research. Here we provide an overview of the different
sources of information about the human genome and how modern information te
chnology, in particular the internet, allows us to link them together.