(FORTUNE Magazine) – FORTUNE posted messages on the AT&T Learning Network, the Global Lab, and Internet, asking kids to talk about using computers. Among the replies that streamed in by E-mail:

At first I was hesitant about the idea of E-mail. Before long I was hooked. When going up to the computer I would think, ''Did I get a message? Did I get a message?'' The ''beep'' and writing stating ''Cecily, you have mail waiting'' were like heaven. I got messages from across the world. Cecily Lin, 14 Taipei, Taiwan

I really enjoy being on the Net and talking to people without being stereotyped as a ''typical teenage computer geek.'' When the person on the other end only knows me by my E-mail address, I can be whoever I want without fear of being told I'm not old enough to be saying that. Andy Wilson, 17 Indianapolis

I'm the king of the computer in the family. Minh Ngo, 9 Milpitas, California

I'm more experienced than my parents. It's great to know that the people who taught you almost everything you know can now learn something from you. Doing something my parents do not understand makes me feel smarter. Ha! Amanda Wagoner, 14 Aspermont, Texas

I don't like these technologies when I have a problem with them and can't find the solution. With a horse you can always figure out why he is acting up, but with a computer one may never know. Bay Hecht, 14 Aspermont, Texas

I feel sorry for my parents having to use handwriting or manual typewriters to do their essays and projects, and especially sorry that the only way they could communicate abroad until now was by either mail or telephone. It's good to see that they will at least get to experience what I am experiencing for some of their life. Duncan Clark, 16 Calgary, Alberta

( Whenever there's a problem with the computer at my father's office, he calls me. I can usually fix the problem without even leaving home. We use a program that allows me to remotely access his system and take full control of it. I've gotten him out of a few jams. Lon Seidman, 16 Westbrook, Connecticut

Our teachers tell us that we will be able to tell our kids that we were the first to communicate with other classrooms around the world without leaving our desks. This is more than just a school project, it's a sign of hope. What else can you call an exchange of ideas between three different countries and six different states? Scott Wilson, 17 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania