Learning online in my opinion is great once you have the basics however the PC is not going to tell you that your third finger has fallen down and needs to be picked back up again or that you need to move your thumb down.

My opinion is that the internet should be a supplement to your learning and you should get a teacher to guide you through the basics. I am obviously biased as I am a guitar teacher myself.

If you only want on-line guitar lessons, you cant go wrong with this site as unlike other sites with the word tube in it, these people know their stuff.

In terms of acoustic guitars you cant go wrong with a Yamaha, also I have seen some fab Vintage branded guitars over the years they are as cheap as chips.