Welcome aboard!
There are lots of useful threads here. This one may help... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/8009-buying-your-first-bass/"]http://basschat.co.u...our-first-bass/[/url]
For what it's worth, I'd buy an Ibanez SR300 to start with. It depends on what you find comfortable; some people don't like the thin necks. Alternatives: Yamaha make good instruments. Intro-level Peaveys are generally decent. Westfields are OK for the money. Vintage (brand) basses by John Hornby Skewes are good.
I'd guess you can already read music. That will definitely help. Finding a teacher is often the best thing to do; simple Google search is probably the best way to do that.
There are lots of resources online. This is good: [url="http://www.studybass.com/study-guide/"]http://www.studybass.com/study-guide/[/url]
I'd definitely buy a book or two, as well. If you can stand the writing, Bass Guitar For Dummies is not bad. There are others.
When you come to buy leads: Always buy instrument-quality cables (they should be labelled on the cable insulation). Other leads will buzz.
Good luck!