The thing about it is is that if it falls into an AI's hands-Especially a Protective leader,Boudica,or Izzy-It's a bit tough dislodging them from it.
Anyway,I count the Internet as more of a wonder than a project(It's a 1 time build that only 1 civ can make that unlocks at a certain tech that grants a bonus to the builder preventing anyone else from building it or completing it,and if you're building it and someone else completes it,you get money for it.Yes.It's a wonder).and I gotta say that if you're not already at a tech advantage,the Internet really isn't going to help-Only 2 techs that at least 2 other civs know isn't going o really give you a boost you need later in the game-especially considering those advanced civs probably built it first.
Izzy is not Protective
On the internet : well, it as much of wonder as Manhattan by your logic ... and none of the national wonders would be a wonder
But anyway, the operational diference between a wonder and project is far diferent: wonders can be rushed ( with a heavy penalty ), projects don't. Simple, isn't it ?
( the real diference is far more abstract: in spite of being built in a city, projects, unlike wonders and buildings, become a civ caractheristic after being built, sort of extra leader trait, and become deattached from the city where they were built. This means that you can't capture projects and you can't , besides some SS related exceptions, destroy them without destroying that civ first )
Second, it is not being advanced or not that makes the internet worthwhile ... it is the ammount of techs that you can expect to see two civs have that you haven't until the end of the game. You can be enourmously advanced compared with most Ai and still profit a lot of the Internet: just don't get the techs that you can expect that the more advanced AI will have. It is the mirror situation of what some people think of stealing techs from the AI for a living.... you don't need to be backward for it to be profitable , you just need to have AI with techs you don't have
OFC if you are in a left to right tech grabbing mode and are putting far more beakers out than the AI, neither stealing techs or the Net will do you much good, but not all the situations where you are technologically advanced are that one