Where to begin?

Too many people have spent the last five years asking that very question. And now they're kicking themselves, wondering how it was they managed to stand still as the stock market raced to one tantalizing record after another.

How do we know? Emails. Thousands of them.

Ever since we launched SmartMoney.com in late 1996, readers young and old have deluged us with requests for investing advice, searching for a way to get in on the action. We never found a satisfactory place on the Web to send them. So we decided to build one ourselves -- an investor education site that could deliver both the sophistication and clarity that has distinguished the SmartMoney franchise over the better part of the 1990s.

SmartMoney University is designed so that beginners can begin at the beginning and more sophisticated investors can pick and choose. Rather than hold you to some rigid course structure, we've built the site in modules so you can self-select, jumping in wherever you think it makes sense. Hopefully, our Department labels are transparent enough to let you know what's inside (Retirement/401(k) and College Planning pretty much say it all). But if you're wondering what one of them is about, just click on the label in the menu bar and you'll get a page with a complete rundown of the courses within.

The site's natural starting point is Investing 101 -- a compendium of basic investment theory and information about stocks, bonds and mutual funds that will give you a strong foundation for everything else on the site. If you're a novice, we'd suggest you dive right in with Why It Works -- the first installment of Investing 101. And if you're not sure, try out one of the section quizzes. It will give you a good idea of where you might need shoring up and suggest exactly where to find the information you need.

One thing you'll notice right away about SmartMoney University is our heavy dependence on Java applets for both our worksheets and our interactive demonstrations. We're aware that Java doesn't work on every machine. We also know that it can sometimes slow downloads and too often isn't allowed through corporate firewalls. But our view is that Java's limitations are clearly outweighed by its utility. Our close integration of Java and text is, we believe, how information will be presented in the future -- particularly educational content. Once you've tried it, you'll see what we mean.

That said, however, there are several things you should do to optimize your computer to view SmartMoney University -- from boosting your screen resolution to enabling your browser to accept Java. America Online members should also make sure that they are using the 32-bit AOL 4.0 or higher browser and that "image compression" is turned off. For detailed instructions on how to make any of these changes, please click on the "Optimize Computer" button in the left-hand navigation bar.

A couple of other matters. First of all, we know how tiresome it can be sometimes to read long pieces of text on the computer. We've tried to break up our "lectures" into bite-size pieces, but sometimes length is unavoidable. So look for the "Print This Page" button on the lower part of the left-hand navigation bar. It will allow you to print out whatever page you're on for consumption someplace else.

We also developed another feature to make it easier to use the site. Because these courses may take more than one sitting, and because it is often hard to find your way back to a particular page on a site of this size and complexity, we've developed a special feature called the "Email Bookmark," which allows you to email yourself (or anyone else, for that matter) the address of the page you are on at any given time. That way, if you have to shut down, your place holder will be siting in your mailbox, giving you one-click access to where you left off.

Speaking of email, we'd encourage you to register your name and email address with us so we can send you updates on features we haven't deployed yet. What you're looking at today is merely the foundation of SmartMoney University -- the beginnings of something much bigger. Over the next three to four months, we plan to offer...

• Live events and chat sessions with noted investors and experts.
• New investing games and simulations.
• Interactive case studies of how to analyze stocks and mutual funds.
• A new section on economics.
• Things you suggest.
• Things we haven't thought of yet.