The world has moved to the Internet. It is estimated that the average American now spends more than 20 percent of his or her time on the Web. So it is not surprising that many homes have more than one computer and that many people use several different computers during any given day.

As we use our computers, we often bookmark websites that we want to return to later. The problem is that if you bookmark a website on your work computer, it is left at work. If you want to access that website when you visit your mom or your best friend, you are out of luck.

Most of today's Web browsers have a solution for this. If you use Firefox, you can use an add-on called Sync to synchronize your bookmarks between computers. Then, when you log into another computer that has Firefox and the Sync add-on, you can see all your bookmarks.

This add-on is especially good because it also saves all your settings, including passwords, bookmarks and other customizations.

There are also ways to sync favorites (bookmarks) in Internet Explorer and other Web browsers. A problem, however, arises when you are set to sync your bookmarks in a given browser such as Firefox and you happen to be at a computer that doesn't have Firefox installed.

To solve this dilemma, many browsers and Web services have created ways to synchronize bookmarks between different browsers.

For instance, the Google Chrome Web browser can be set to sync automatically with a Google account. If you use Chrome, you simply enable sync in the Chrome tools menu, and you can sync your bookmarks between computers running Chrome.

You can also log into your Google account and see your bookmarks online from any Internet-connected computer, even if it doesn't have Chrome installed.

The Opera browser has a similar feature in which you can log into the Web version of its sync program to access your bookmarks and history from any Internet-connected computer.

Every Web browser is offering some form of synchronization, and they keep getting better and better.

Right now, however, I think the best and easiest solution is to use Google Bookmarks. This keeps a copy of your bookmarks in your online Google account so you can access them from any Internet-connected computer.

To get started you simply set up a free Google account. If you already use any of Google's other services such as Gmail or Google Calendar, you can simply add the bookmark program to the account you already have. When you install the Bookmark program, you can import the favorites or bookmarks that you already have in Internet Explorer or Firefox.

On the computers that you use often, you can install the Google Toolbar, which gives you an icon for saving and naming your bookmarks. Or you can add the Google Bookmark icon to the Bookmarks toolbar on your Web browser. On other computers, you can log into your Google account and access your bookmarks at www.google. com/bookmarks.

The hardest part of this may be in remembering to use the Google toolbar or icon to create your bookmarks rather than using your browser bookmark icon.

I love Google Bookmarks. Not only is it a convenient way to be able to access your bookmarks from any computer, but also the Google page that shows your bookmarks is very well-organized. It is, in fact, easier to manage your bookmarks here than it is in most browsers.

If you have been frustrated by trying to organize or delete your bookmarks in Internet Explorer or Firefox, you will love how easy it is to organize your Google Bookmarks.

If you use Google as your search engine, you get another perk with Google Bookmarks. As long as you are logged into your Google account, when you do a search, you will see a Star icon by each result.

When you click on the Star icon, that search result is saved and will appear at the top of the list when you do the same or another similar search. This feature can save you time and energy when you are researching any topic.

Google has recently added another feature to its Bookmarks called Google Lists. You can save any bookmarked pages to a list that you can share with others.

The Lists program is a little smarter than Bookmarks. It can pull the most important information, such as maps and reviews, from the sites that you add to the list. It's great for researching things such as trips. As I use it, I find it more and more valuable.

With any of these synching solutions, you have to log in so the computer can pull your bookmarks and/or customizations. That, however, is a small price to pay for instant synchronization. Where you log in will depend on which solution you choose.

As you can see, there are many ways to sync your bookmarks, and some even come with other useful features. So don't be frustrated by not being able to access your bookmarks all the time. Look at a few of the ways that I've given you. Choose the one that suits you best.

Happy syncing!

Send your computer-related questions for publication in this column to Sandy Berger at Computer Living Corp., P.O. Box 5895, Pinehurst NC 28374; or by e-mail at sandy@compukiss.com.