Some Central and Eastern European languages, such as Bulgarian and Macedonian, use the Cyrillic alphabet. To use these sites, you must be able to correctly encode your browser to "read" Cyrillic. In Microsoft Internet Explorer, you must choose "View," "Fonts" and then select the appropriate Cyrillic encoding. With Netscape Communicator, the task is also quite easy. After accessing the site, choose "View," "Encoding" (or "Character Set" in Communicator 4.5 or above), and then select from the options (KOI8-R, ISO-8859-5, Windows-1251). The page will then reload. Unless you are informed by the site which option is best, begin with Windows-1251. If the site does not become legible, try another encoding option until it is recognizable as Bulgarian, Macedonian or whichever language you are attempting to read.
You can download Cyrillic fonts at the University of Oregon and Bucknell University sites. If you have questions on connecting to the web while abroad, writing or reading e-mail in Cyrillic characters, or other similar issues, go to the IREX site. If you receive e-mail that you cannot decode, go to the Design.ru e-mail decoder.
If you use an American version of Windows 98, you can modify your system to recognize Cyrillic characters in toolbars, on the desktop, etc. By replacing a few files in the C:\Windows\Fonts folder, you can fully Cyrillicize your system. If you would like these files, a phonetic keyboard driver or have difficulty finding appropriate fonts, e-mail me and I will forward the necessary information to you.