Genetics is the area of medicine most associated with the world wide web. This has stemmed from the acclaimed efforts of the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium to ensure that the draft sequence of the human genome sequence was available online to the public (http://www.genome.gov/). Moreover, the ease of updating information on the web has made it an important medium for rapidly advancing clinical areas such as neurogenetics. As a result there are many excellent websites pertaining to genetics. I shall highlight those that fulfil some or all of the following criteria that make a good web site—namely: design and layout; accurate and up-to-date information; ease of navigation; and multiple links.

As a starting point, patients and doctors may need to familiarise themselves with common genetic terms and …