The other Opera is a little-known browser that really sprints across the Internet's World Wide Web. Browsers are simply programs for using the Web. Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are the most popular.

About 8 million people have tried Opera since the program was developed in Sweden in the mid-1990s. Its popularity is booming with the release of the newest version.

Opera bills itself as "the fastest browser on Earth." Technical people at computer magazines and elsewhere agree, after tests comparing Opera with Explorer and Netscape.

The difference is especially apparent with older computers that have slow modems and processors and not enough random access memory (RAM). It may be less apparent with better-equipped computers that use a cable, DSL or other fast Internet connection.

I've been using Opera on both types of computers and on an in-between PC that has state-of-the-art hardware but a dial-up Internet connection.

Opera leaves Explorer and Netscape in the dust on all three machines. It opens faster, completes searches faster, scrolls faster and downloads Web pages faster.

And the price is right. The full 6.01 version of Opera is free. Although it displays advertisements, they are not annoying or intrusive. An ad-free version costs $39. Both can be downloaded at the Opera Web site (www.opera.com/download).

For individuals not comfortable with downloading programs from the Internet, Opera is a snap. Look at the "Suggested download" box on the Opera Web site. Most people can just click "Download it NOW." Macintosh users should click "Change" and select from the list.

Before downloading, click one of the circles to indicate whether you want Opera with Java, a programming language designed for the Internet.

The Java-enabled version of Opera will use 11.06 megabytes of hard disk space. The without-Java version needs only 3.26 megabytes. Opera recommends the Java-enabled version, but both versions will work. Download the Java-enabled version if you have enough disk space.

Remember that the bigger download will take longer, especially with a dial-up connection. One of my PCs needed almost 30 minutes to download the no-Java version over telephone lines.

After punching "download," a new screen asks whether you want the free or paid version. Try the free version.

The next box asks what you want to do with the downloaded version - open it or save it? Pick "save." Then you'll be asked where you want the file saved. Save it to your "desktop," the icon-covered screen that appears after starting the computer. "Desktop" may appear automatically in the "Save in" box. If not, click the little inverted triangle and select "desktop."

When the download finishes, you'll have a new icon on the desktop, probably one with a lot of numbers. Click that icon to install the program. When the installation is done, you'll see an O-shaped Opera icon on the desktop. Click and use just like any other icon.

Opera has an "interface" - a screen for interacting with the program - a little different than Explorer or Netscape. But it is very user-friendly.

Use Opera's default home page, or your own. To change the home page, keyboard the address, go to Navigation on the Opera toolbar, and select "Home."

The toolbar offers many other options for changing Opera's appearance and function.

Go ahead. Experiment and discover its features.

If you like Opera, keep it. If not, uninstall it to free up disk space. Uninstalling means more than trashing the icon. Click the "Windows Start" button, select "Control Panel," "Add/Remove Programs," locate Opera and remove it.

(For news and information about Toledo visit http://www.toledoblade.com/. E-mail mwoods@nationalpress.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)