When was .NET released?

I just got a resume from a guy that says "4 years experience using .NET" Is that right? When did .NET come out?

Thanks,
Mike

:bigyello:
I think I got my first .net in 2000, MS bata.

From what I can tell, the first VS.NET beta was released about September 2000, but the first non-beta was released in spring of 2002.