What is an HTTP Request?
With an HTTP request, a web page can make a request to, and get a response from a web server - without reloading the page. The user will stay on the same page, and he or she will not notice that scripts might request pages, or send data to a server in the background.

By using the XMLHttpRequest object, a web developer can change a page with data from the server after the page has loaded.

Google Suggest is using the XMLHttpRequest object to create a very dynamic web interface: When you start typing in Google's search box, a JavaScript sends the letters off to a server and the server returns a list of suggestions.