News servers function as a distribution and delivery source for the 20,000+ public news groups currently accessible over the USENET news network. USENET is the largest news and discussion group-based network on the Internet. The servers utilize the Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) to interface with other USENET news servers and to distribute news to anyone using a standard NNTP newsreader (Agent or Outlook Express, for example). News servers also make it possible to serve your own news and discussion groups publicly over the Internet or privately over your own local network.