See also: •  Guggenheim Going Virtual •  Weighing In on Net Art's Worth •  Discover more Net Culture

"Every time you log on to a website, you interact with multimedia," said Randall Packer, the project's leader. "But people don’t even know where (multimedia) came from, or what it is."

"Multimedia: From Wager to Virtual Reality" charts the evolution of the discipline through "the aspirations of artists, scientists, writers, musicians, and cultural renegades," said Packer, a Washington-based artist and musician.

The website presents a historical timeline, an overview of themes, and a comprehensive list of multimedia pioneers.

Multimedia isn't confined to computers, Packer said, but has its roots in Wagner's 19th century operas.

Wagner's concept of the "Gesamtkunstwerk," or Total Artwork, envisioned a synthesis of the arts which is now found in the latest digital environments, Packer said.

Packer discovered that this idea also evolved during the Bauhaus and the Futurist artistic movements of the early 20th century.

"There's a lineage of scientists and artists who envisioned the integration of media and artistic form," Packer said. "Virtual reality didn't come from nowhere."

The site's timeline starts with Wagner, scrolls to Futurism and the Bauhaus, through Memex and Hypertext, past William Gibson and Bill Viola, and arrives at Net art and virtual reality. Along the way, you can click on the timeline to read brief descriptions and biographies.

But not everyone agrees with the history portrayed in the site.