Basic database questions.

Hi everyone, this is my first ever post on the list so please be gentle with me ;-) OK I want to put a database on my website. Up until yesterday my knowledge of databases was having created a very simple one when I was about 15 for GCSE IT. Don't ask how, but I've always avoided them, learning c++ and all the rest of it instead. SO, I'm pretty computer literate, but know nothing about databases. SO I'm told I should use PHP and MySQL. Been learning PHP for the last day or so, seems easy enough (so far!) But I'm confused. 1) Is MySQL just a set of instructions for querying a database or is it an actual format for storing a database. Somehting I read suggested that MySQL should be used to access Acess DB's - wtf? 2) OK so I can see how the mysql instructions will get data from a database but how do I create the little bastard in the first place? SHOULD I be using something like access? It makes no sense to me! Sorry for the dumb questions, but I need soem dumb answers! It seems everything about MySQL on the web is directed at people who have used databases extensively. thanks everyone, - seb