Okay, this continent vs. island discussion has gone far enough <G>.

Continents and islands are not mutually exclusive. (All squares are
rectangles, but not all rectangles are square.) Australia meets the
definition of an island in that it is surrounded by water. It also meets the
definition of a continent because it is a distinct land mass situated on a
continental plate.

North America also has its own continental plate(s), as do South America,
Africa and Antarctica, but again they are distinct land masses. Eurasia is a
tougher call...but here in the U.S. we differentiate Europe and Asia as
distinct continents. India is a sub-continent...although it sits on its own
continental plate, that plate collided with the Asian plate (which is how
the Himalaya were formed).

The convention in the U.S. is that there are seven continents. Apparently
(and my, was I surprised) that convention is not universally applied or
accepted.

Maybe this thread should be cross-posted to a geography or geology list.
<GGG>