Questions re: My circa 2002 iMac G4

I have just pulled my old iMac out of storage after a 7 year hibernation.
I connected it to the Internet however the browser (IE for Mac) is no longer supported and won't properly run current web pages.
The specs on the machine are as follows:
700MHz G4 processor
256K on-chip level 2 cache running at 700MHz
256MB SDRAM supports up to 1GB
40GB hard disk.

This machine came with Mac OS9 and OSX (I think it's a first generation G4?)

My questions are as follows:

1. What is the most current OS I could upgrade to (that the machine would still run) and roughly how much $ is that upgrade going to cost?

2. Obviously if I upgrade the OS, I'd have to upgrade the RAM to 1GB. Is that enough for current day standard?

3. If I do steps 1 and 2, does anyone think I can make this machine 2010 (and beyond) web worthy?

4. If not, what should I do with this machine, is it worth any $? It's in mint condition. I still have the original box, packing material, and all associated paperwork.

Thanks for your time reading and posting your thoughts!

The man with the Beard!

1) Well, the newest OS that will run officially on that Machine is OS X 10.4 Tiger. It's no longer supported or sold by Apple, so it depends on what you can find it for 2nd hand.

2) Upgrading the ram would help, and 1 GB is probably considered an "okay" amount. The ram can be upgraded to 1 GB but there's 2 slots, a user friendly slot, and an internal slot. The internal slot requires a large portion of the computer to be disassembled, and isn't an easy task if you're not computer savvy. (Or so I've heard) That's the main reason that my iMac G4 still has 512 MB of ram.

3) The machine is outdated. It's not going to be 2010+ worthy. No matter what possible upgrades you make to it. It's not bad for light web browsing. But it's still from 2002.

4) You can check here to get a ballpark range on what it's worth: Mac2Sell - Guide to used Mac, iPad, iPhone & iPod - Evaluation - Argus Mac, iPod, iPad, iPhone Occasion