  This paper briefly describes the principle of operation and science goals of
the AMANDA high energy neutrino telescope located at the South Pole,
Antarctica. Results from an earlier phase of the telescope, called AMANDA-B10,
demonstrate both reliable operation and the broad astrophysical reach of this
device, which includes searches for a variety of sources of ultrahigh energy
neutrinos: generic point sources, Gamma-Ray Bursts and diffuse sources. The
predicted sensitivity and angular resolution of the telescope were confirmed by
studies of atmospheric muon and neutrino backgrounds. We also report on the
status of the analysis from AMANDA-II, a larger version with far greater
capabilities. At this stage of analysis, details of the ice properties and
other systematic uncertainties of the AMANDA-II telescope are under study, but
we have made progress toward critical science objectives. In particular, we
present the first preliminary flux limits from AMANDA-II on the search for
continuous emission from astrophysical point sources, and report on the search
for correlated neutrino emission from Gamma Ray Bursts detected by BATSE before
decommissioning in May 2000. During the next two years, we expect to exploit
the full potential of AMANDA-II with the installation of a new data acquisition
system that records full waveforms from the in-ice optical sensors.
