As the Internet is now becoming larger and more complicated, a site map is more and more important for users to avoid getting lost in cyberspace. A good navigational site map should gracefully and interactively provide the users with the looked for details of content, while keeping them conveniently informed of where they are and provide them with an overview diagram of the information space. A site map should give a clear overall site view that would help the user to decide whether to continue going to a web site or not.

A site map can be a regional site map or a global site map, or a combination of both.

A regional site map can represent a detailed relationship between the currently viewed page and those immediately linked pages. It helps the viewer to navigate from the current page to the next page that is linked directly to the current page. The illustrated relationship is detailed but regional.

A global site map provides the overall view of the web sites that may not be directly linked. It logically links some web sites that are related in contents. It helps the users to determine whether to go into a web site or not from a higher level.

A combination of the regional map and the global map will benefit the user greatly. Imagine that a global map is always linked to a regional map, no matter which page the user looks at. With this arrangement, the user can always focus on the specific page of the current web site, and knows what other related web sites are available.

My project is a Silk Road web site with a dynamic regional site map and a global site map. The regional site map is a Java applet that generates a meaningful structure of the web site and visually represents it. An animated smooth movement and color change of the symbols that represent web pages are pleasing to the viewer's eyes. The user can interact with my regional site map and control and jump around my Silk Road web site. The global site map provides the overall view of other related and logically categorized Silk Road web sites authored by others on the Internet. The user can gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of Chinese history, culture, religion, custom, language etc.