Game theory provides a good model for the behavior and interaction of the selfish users and programs in large-scale distributed computer systems without central control. The course discusses algorithmic aspects of game theory: Introduction to game theory, Auction-like mechanisms, Cost of a central control optimum and a selfish equilibrium, Algorithms and complexity of computing equilibria.

The course discusses algorithmic issues related to the Web, employing interesting algorithmic and mathematical techniques for modeling and analyzing various Web related problems w.r.t. network structure (small world, hotlink assignment, page ranking), basics of game theory, selfish agents, auctions, distributed selfish packet routing and load balancing, and on-line control in some generality.