1. First, the language was developed back in the late 1980s. It was originally designed to work as a "glue" between other languages. It works to make the hard things easy and the impossible things possible (to paraphrase Larry Wall, the inventor). It's evolved greatly; now there are many people working on Perl. (See perlhist)
2. The current status of Perl (not PERL) can be a lot of different things. It's currently at version 5.8.0. It's always a work in progress.
3. The strengths and weaknesses are one and the same: you can do anything with Perl. This allows for many tasks to be done quickly, but it also allows for sloppy coding. I'd assume that the characteristics of the average application written in Perl is that it would have taken much longer in C or Java. Also, the program has some aspects that when read at a later date, are indecipherable by the author.
4. That's a biggie. See CPAN.

For extra credit, you should also explain about the social aspects of Perl. This language has started a social movement that united people all across the globe; those with computer expertise and those just starting out. It has a following akin to a cult or other religious sect. Visions of camels are often seen in the clouds and the foam of a cappucino. People live by Perl. People make a living from Perl, directly or indirectly. It helps, it heals. It cures headaches. Perl is a gift to the computing world, and it's free.

Join the Monastery and begin your training. Even if you don't learn a thing about Perl, you'll learn something else worthwhile in the process.

Update: see also perlfaq1 to answer some other questions you might have.

John J Reiser
newrisedesigns.com