Date: 2008-11-02 11:52:02 Created: null
That's a pair of eyes ...
Add in a nose ...
Finish off with a nice happy mouth! Looks like a happy face, and is hence called a smiley. Or, if you like ...
... an unhappy one! Much nicer, however ...
... is a good laugh!
Or why not add an ironic wink?
These are just the basics of course. In total there are about 22,7 billion different smilies and other symbols out in the wild areas of the Internet. Collectively they're also known as emoticons.