WIDE (Widely Integrated Distributed Environment) is a research project aimed at achieving a transparent distributed environment over heterogeneous distributed computing elements with the consideration of various types of connections for internetworking. The target environment of the research is the computing environment in the academic and research communities, especially in Japan. In order to establish a working environment for research, the project started the WIDE Internet, which provides a backbone of connectivity for the member organizations. The WIDE Internet is connected to research networks in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand via the PACCOM Internet. The primary protocol employed in the project is the Internet Protocol (IP) family. Thus, the WIDE Internet provides Japan's IP connectivity for both domestic and international connections. A discussion is presented of technologies being employed for the achievement of project goals such as networking technologies, operating system architecture and its backbone structure, together with the actual state and the future plans of the WIDE project and WIDE Internet.<<ETX>>