I am puting a web site in a CD-ROM. I want the home page of this web
site to be automatically launched when the CD-ROM is inserted in a PC
(using the PC's default browser). I know how to put the web site in a
CD-ROM, but how do I get it to be automatically launched when the
CD-ROM is inserted?

Hello there puchanix, and thanks for the interesting question.
Throughout this answer I am assuming that your users will be running a
version of Microsoft Windows, version 95 or above.

In order to make an action (such as a program running) occur when a
CD-ROM is inserted into the drive, two conditions need to be
fulfilled:

1. The CD-ROM drive needs to be autorun enabled. That is, the driver
for the CD-ROM drive itself must be set to tell Windows when a new
disc is inserted. This is the default setup for most Windows
installations.

2. The CD-ROM itself must contain a file called Autorun.inf in its
root directory which tells Windows what program to run when the CD-ROM
is inserted. This file is actually rather simple. For example, if I
wanted a program called foo.exe (in the root of the CD-ROM) to autorun
when the disc was inserted, all my Autorun.inf file would need to
contain would be the following two lines of text (created in Notepad,
for example):

[Autorun]
open=foo.exe

Simple as that! Additionally, I could include extra lines which would
tell Windows what icon and label to use for the drive in Windows
Explorer, viz:

[Autorun]
open=foo.exe
icon=foo.exe,0
label=Foo disc

The drive will now have an icon that is the same as the default for
the foo.exe file, and additionally will be labelled "Foo disc" next to
the drive letter in Windows Explorer.

Autorun.inf only allows programs to be run, rather than web pages
launched. However, there is a way around this problem, by using a
"helper" program (included on the CD-ROM) which automatically fires up
the user's default web browser.

The best way to create Autorun.inf in these sitations is to use a
freeware program like "Autorun.inf editor", which is available from:
http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptautorun.asp

I've just been playing with this program myself, in order to write
this answer, and it's great. You merely need to specify a website
address, or the location of your homepage on the CD-ROM, and it will
automatically create the Autorun.inf file and include the "helper"
application ready to be copied to the disc. I just tried it out and it
works perfectly.

If you're interested in finding out more about the Autorun.inf file,
there's a very good introduction on the following page:
http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/4524.asp

Last of all, if you'd like to read more about the "helper application"
used by the program I link to above, there's information about this in
the programmer's newsletter:
http://www.karenware.com/newsletters/2001/2001-03-06.asp

I hope this helps - good luck creating your CD-ROM!

Best wishes,
StuartWoozle.

[In order to supplement my knowledge of this subject, I used the
following search terms in Google:
autoplay CD-ROM
autorun CD-ROM ]