Liberalism vs socialism

The term liberalism, when applied to governments, is very different from the term liberal in America. Where liberalism implies a limited government, here in the United States a liberal is not usually seen as supporting a smaller government. This can be very confusing. In an effort to better understand these various meanings, we need to explore the variations within liberalism itself.

So who would like to explain how modern liberalism varies from classical liberalism? In addition, in what ways is classical liberalism similar to conservatism today?