Digital Divide Network

22.04.2003 The news and propaganda wing behind the US government's Voice of America broadcasts has commissioned software to assist Chinese Web surfers in circumventing government-imposed Internet restrictions. The software allows PC users to create a "circumvention Web server" that can tunnel under the government firewall.

09.04.2003 Dr. Abdul Alkalimat, director of the Africana Studies programme at the University of Toledo, has launched a digital divide initiative that has captured the interest of hundreds of churches across the city of Toledo in North America. Cyber-Church has helped local churches go online by recruiting young people to train church members and staff.

07.04.2003 Malaysian telecommunications firm REDtone plans to install 20,000 "alternative" payphones across Malaysia and Bangladesh. Users can make calls at rates up to 70 percent less than other telephone services by leaving a small deposit with the owner of the establishment.

27.03.2003 Women in the United Arab Emirates are increasingly pursuing information technology courses at the higher education level. The higher education institutions in UAE have nearly 72 per cent women and the country boasts one of the highest female literacy rates in the Arab world.

26.03.2003 The "decidedly un-trendy" town of Schwaebisch Hall in Germany claims it is becoming the first city in the world to dump Microsoft software in favour of Open Source technology based on the Linux operating system.