Un Launches Initiative To Improve Internet Access In

UN launches initiative to improve Internet access in Asia-Pacific region

11 March 2008 – The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has launched a new database to promote the development of telecentres – community centres where people in the poorest and most remote areas, from farmers to students, gain access to computers and the Internet.

The Telecentre Online Database, covering over 12,000 telecentres in 16 countries, seeks to support research and information exchange for those involved with these e-centres. It also provides statistical data and information on individual countries and specific projects, with information accessible by a keyword search.

The project is part of a larger initiative of the UN’s five regional commissions called “Knowledge networks through ICT access points for disadvantaged communities,” which aims to empower poor and disadvantaged communities – women in particular – by converting selected e-centres into global knowledge hubs to bolster communities’ abilities to organize, share and disseminate knowledge.

Meanwhile, a UN-backed meeting focusing on expanding affordable broadband access has opened in Pattaya, Thailand.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?News...1=communication

"opened in Pattaya"

work work work, eh