Abbreviated AOL. The world's largest online service, headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, with more than 15 million subscribers. AOL provides a gateway to the Internet, as well as its own news, sports, e-mail, chat rooms, and other fee-based services. In 1997, AOL bought CompuServe, and in 1998, Netscape Communications.
For more information about America Online, see www.aol.com.