The Internet can simultaneously be a student's best friend and worst nightmare.

Granted, the World Wide Web has made up-to-date information instantly available to every kid who has computer access either at home or school.

Unfortunately, finding that information can often mean wading through several thousand -- sometimes a million or more -- "hits" while trying to find the exact tidbit needed to finish a term paper or class presentation.

Because the rapidly changing world demands information that hasn't become obsolete while waiting for the text book to be published, and because the Internet can be so frustrating, James S. Cassano had a brainstorm -- Beyond Books, an Internet service that augments the classroom text and allows kids to "drill down" into a wealth of data that goes far beyond the printed page.

Cassano explains, "Our concept with Beyond Books is to harness the power of the Internet as an educational tool. More than just another Web site or one version of a text- book, all content on Beyond Books is directly related to specific courses of study. Our programs are unique in their depth, breadth and originality. Students may engage and inter act with the digital content, with famous guests in live chats or with each other."

Beyond Books is not intended to replace textbooks, although Carol Ann Mueller, spokesperson for Beyond Books, reports than one New Jersey district has done just that.

Rather, the BeyondBooks.com program goes beyond the traditional book, adding animation, voice, video, interactivity and providing knowledge in a style that motivates teachers, students and literally everyone to read more, go deeper and learn.

Beyond Books was conceived back in 1998 by Cassano, a former vice president of Safeguard Scientific and savior of a failing dot-com that evolved into the phenomenal Tickets.com.

Holder of an MBA from the Wharton School, Cassano's first hint of the power of the Internet as an educational tool came when he joined the board of directors of the Independence Hall Association and helped the group put its historical offerings on the Web. The redesigned site, with its virtual tour of the Betsy Ross House, had six million visits during 1998.

From there, Cassano listened to problems expressed by students, teachers and parents and decided to take the plunge that would become New Forum Publishers Inc., parent of BeyondBooks.com.

The fledgling company was -- and still is -- based in Conshohocken, meaning that a local school district was the logical choice to serve as guinea pig for BeyondBooks.com. And, since Cassano's children are alumni of the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, it became the incubator for ideas tossed around by TIE history teachers.

It is because Cassano is a "history buff" that Beyond Books began with that subject and piloted the program in a variety of Main Line schools from Lower Merion, Harriton, Radnor, Archbishop Carrol and Haverford High Schools, The Shipley School and Villa Maria Academy, Bala Cynwyd, Haverford and Radnor Middle Schools and St. Monica's School.

Now available by subscription, BeyondBooks.com has been expanded to include U.S. and European history, American Government, ancient civilizations, American and British literature, language arts, earth and physical sciences, biology and art history. For about $1 per student per course per year, a student researcher can access a program outline, move on to a "locus area" followed by a focus area and finally a links page. At each step, the student has the choice to go forward or investigate "The Stuff You'll Like" --interesting places to visit that will take a browser deep into the up close and personal aspects of every subject.

Spokesperson Muellel explains that BeyondBooks.com's content is "written for teachers by teachers." The proprietary site is free of advertising, she adds, and thanks to "Web wranglers who review, rate and rank Web sites," the home page only links to sites with limited or appropriate advertising and content.

"BeyondBooks.com frees up users from the lower level tasks of searching and sorting and accessing usable information," she adds.

While the service has, thus far, been available only to licensed schools, beginning with the New Year, subscriptions may be purchased by individuals for home use. Says Mueller, "Now we can make this exciting resource tool available to all. No matter where the child is, it is a resource that accelerates ability to receive information."

Prospective Web surfers and parents curious about what their kids are doing at school can take a free tour of BeyondBooks.com at -- what else? -- www.beyondbooks.com.

It's an ambitious project that may untangle the World Wide Web, filter out all the junk that is clogging Internet traffic and give kids a friendly, interesting and fun research tool.