Quantum processing and communication is emerging as a challenging technique at the beginning of the new millennium. This is an up-to-date insight into the current research of quantum superposition, entanglement, and the quantum measurement process - the key ingredients of quantum information processing. The authors further address quantum protocols and algorithms. Complementary to similar programmes in other countries and at the European level, the German Research Foundation (DFG) started a focused research program on quantum information in 1999. The contributions - written by leading experts - bring together the latest results in quantum information as well as addressing all the relevant questions.