In the wake of the massive attack on the World Trade Center, businesses, government agencies and individuals relied on the Internet to reach loved ones, and co-workers as cellular and land-bound phone service proved sporadic after the disaster.

Many people who couldn't get their phone calls connected said they found out through e-mail that their family members were alive. Although some companies -- notably Morgan Stanley Dean Witter -- used the Web as a clearinghouse of information for victims' families, survivors and employees, other companies had no updates or overloaded servers that all but rendered their sites useless.

'If anyone out there has information to relate, they can do so via the Web,' an FBI agent said at a news conference this morning in Pennsylvania. The FBI started using the site Tuesday, directing tipsters to http://www.ifccfbi.gov/, which is the The Internet Fraud Complaint Center. The Center, which is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, has a link at the top of their site labeled 'Report Terrorist Activity,' which was overloaded and producing the HTTP, Sever Too Busy message.

By Tuesday afternoon, the two airlines victimized in the hijackings already had shifted their Web sites into high gear. American Airlines quickly posted a statement about the attacks: 'American Airlines is now confirming that all remaining airplanes in the American Airlines system, including TWA and American Eagle, have been accounted for and are safe. This morning, two American jets carrying 158 passengers and 17 crewmembers were lost in apparent terrorist attacks. ...'

US Airways did the same: 'US Airways confirmed today that all US Airways and US Airways Express aircraft are accounted for and that operations have been halted for the balance of the day on Tuesday. ...'

Numerous other airlines were relying heavily on their Web sites to inform passengers of service interruptions and rebooking options.

Canada Transport posted an extensive list on flights that were diverted to Canada when they FAA closed US airspace on Tuesday. 'This information will be updated as details become available. People seeking further information should call the appropriate airline directly,' the site said.

The Federal Aviation Administration's site simply carried Tuesday's statement from Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta explaining the suspension of air traffic.

While many companies were using the Web in an attempt to get back to business as usual, many companies based in the World Trade Center made use of the Web for the more gruesome task of reporting the deaths of their employees and providing emergency numbers for unaccounted employees to call if they survived.

Morgan Stanley, which was the largest tenant of the Trade Center, provided updates on its site beginning Tuesday. 'We are all saddened and outraged by the attack on America today, and extend our deepest sympathies and prayers to all the people affected,' read the beginning of the statement from Morgan Stanley Chairman Philip Purcell. The letter said that the company employed 3,500 people in those offices. In a news conference today, Purcell said 'it appears the vast majority got out safely.'

Purcell also addressed concerns of the firm's customers. 'We want our clients to know today that in spite of this tragedy, all of our businesses are functioning and will continue to function,' he said.

Lehman Brothers, meanwhile, which occupied several floors of the North tower, had not updated its Web site by midday Wednesday.

The law firm of Thacher, Proffitt & Wood, which occupied several floors of the South Tower, redesigned its Web site to list the names of their employyes and their contact information. However, the list had contact information for only four of the employees on the long list.

Defense contractor Raytheon, which had offices in the World Trade Center, said four of its employees were on the planes that crashed Tuesday. Raytheon's Web site linked to a company press release issued at PR Newswire.

Insurance company Aon Corp., which occupied several floors near the top of the South tower, replaced the front page of its web site with a letter to employees and customers, with contact numbers for the company, conselors, hospitals and airlines. 'Approximately 1,100 Aon employees worked in the World Trade Center Tower #2, and our first concern is for their safety and well being,' the company said on its site. 'The amount of information that we have is still limited due to the scope of this tragedy, however we will try to provide updates as more news becomes available.'

Verizon, which provides local phone service to Manhattan and had offices in the South building of the World Trade Center, had not updated its web site by early Wednesday afternoon. However, the company issued press releases through PR Newswire stating it is offering free phone service from its 4,000 Manhattan payphones through the duration of the crisis and that its lines were congested, but functioning on Tuesday after the attacks.

The New York Marriott World Trade Center carried this message in a stark text-only format: '...(B)ecause it is virtually impossible for us to know if a guest was in the building at the time of the event, our efforts to verify that information could take some time.'

The Millennium Hilton Next to the World Trade Center, which reporters said on Tuesday may be on the verge of collapsing, hadn't yet updated its site. 'You should stay here!' the site said atop its promotion materials which had links to book a room.

Regular e-mail lists also came into action, offering up prayers and condolences as well as emergency contact numbers. On Wednesday, Jason McCabe Calacanis, the editor of Silicon Alley Reporter along with Ken Seiff, the chief executive officer of Bluefly.com, e-mailed offers of free office space for companies who were victims of the disaster.

Many government Web sites remained jammed on Wednesday, including ones for the New York fire and police departments. The unofficial site of NY firefighters listed brief, but updated information, disaster pictures and numerous links to archived material, including radio codes and a heavily-trafficked message board.

Other government sites had stark updates. The National Parks Service's Web site for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island carried this notice: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLAND WILL BE CLOSED INDEFINITELY.'

Other organizations impacted by the disaster provided varying degrees of updates on the Web. The New York Yankee's official Web site had a picture of an American flag at half staff, a logo and link to the Red Cross and a story from MLB.com that explains that all Major League Baseball games will be canceled for a second day. The site linked to several other baseball/disaster related stories from MLB.com

The New York Stock Exchange's site simply noted that markets would be closed at least through Wednesday.

The site for FedEx said all its employees have been accounted for, but that customers can expect delays of at least 24 to 48 hours for all shipments, and that the company's money-back-guarantee has been suspended for this crisis.

UPS, whose main Manhattan warehouse is located downtown near the West Side Highway at Houston Street, said its employees were all accounted for and they were making deliveries as best as possible in Manhattan.

Elsewhere in the United States, companies were notifying employees and customers of their status. Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., was closed after the attacks on the East Coast. A visit to the Disneyland site now produces a pop-up window stating the park will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The official site for the Empire State Building however, had not been updated by midday Wednesday. Most retail tenants of the World Trade Center also made no changes to their front pages of their Web sites. Those that were unchanged included Ann Taylor, Gap, J. Crew, Coach, Victoria's Secret and Banana Republic.

And then there was the quiet morbidity of the functioning sites for business that will be no more. The site for the Windows on the World restaurant, which was located on the 106th floor of the north tower, was up but not updated with a cheery graphic of the tops of the two World Trade Center buildings with a red-light blinking atop the north tower.