COMMUNICATION: Internet Boosts Reach of Alternative Radio

While the transnational corporations showed off the latest in information and communication technologies (ICTs) at the world summit that ended Friday in Tunis, reporters from alternative radio stations remained loyal to their old tape recorders and microphones.

PARAGUAY: Internet Access? What About Just a Telephone?

When Emilio Contrera, a small farmer in Paraguay who is nearly 80 years old, wants to phone his daughter in the capital, he must first overcome a number of hurdles.

TECHNOLOGY: Welcome to Ruralkenya.com

A generator rumbles behind the two-roomed building, which looks like one of the maize mills that dot Kenya's rural landscape. But, you're not likely to find a harvest of any sort in here - rather, food for thought.

CULTURE: Malawians Pursue the “Bootylicious”

On a cool evening, a young woman who identifies herself as Yasmin swings her hips as she walks confidently from her living quarters at the University of Malawi campus, towards a hall where a disco is being held.

EDUCATION: Fighting Computer-Assisted Plagiarism in Latin America

Student plagiarism is becoming more and more common in Latin America, with the infinite possibilities offered by the Internet to those who follow the law of least effort.

COMMUNICATIONS-ARGENTINA: Computers Alone Can’t Bridge Digital Gap

"With these three computers and Internet access, it's as if we could reach up and touch the sky," exclaimed Analía Bonesso, the principal and teacher of all eight grades in a rural primary school in Argentina with no telephone, no radio, and only 14 students.

COMMUNICATIONS: The Struggle for Real Control Over the Virtual World

The real world is involved in a battle for control over the virtual world, one of the central issues to be dealt with at the Nov. 16-18 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in the Tunisian capital.

CULTURE: Hotugandans.com + Red Pepper = Controversy

The spread of the internet has opened Uganda to a vast array of trends and influences that would have had little effect in previous years. However, a good many citizens who have peered into this brave new world are not sure they like what they see - especially the two pornography sites featuring Ugandans that took the country by surprise recently.

COMMUNICATIONS-LATIN AMERICA: Mobile Phones Only a Partial Solution

The statistics seem to reflect encouraging progress: the number of telephones per 100 inhabitants rose from 23.12 to 52.7 in South America between 1999 and 2004, while Central America experienced a leap from 17.24 to 47.9, more than tripling the population's access to telephone service.

COMMUNICATIONS: Road to Tunis Paved With Questions

With just six weeks to go before the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, a number of key issues remain unresolved, including the highly debated questions of Internet governance and civil society participation.

MEDIA: Tunisia Promoting Free Expression – But Not at Home

A coalition of 14 international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has expressed "deep concern" over the upsurge in attacks on freedom of expression in Tunisia - a country which next month will host the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

COMMUNICATIONS: Activists Denounce “Erosion” of NGO Participation in Summit

The unprecedented cooperation among governments, civil society and the private sector that has characterised the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process for the last three years was undermined this week by a decision adopted by government representatives.

CULTURE: The Home of English Football’s Most Ardent Fans? Uganda

It's a cold, wet Sunday evening outside the Little Highbury pub. Inside, patrons are glued to a huge television screen showing an eagerly awaited football match between two English Premier League teams: Arsenal and Chelsea.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: HIV-Positives in Search of Love, Click Here

Real love, as they say, can be hard to find. And, the odds of coming across a caring partner are even slimmer if you’re open about being HIV-positive.

COMMUNICATIONS: Human Rights at the Information Society Summit

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) managed to avoid a scandal over the exclusion of a group of Chinese activists, but controversy will be difficult to defuse when discussion turns to human rights violations in Tunisia, the host country of the Summit's second phase.

COMMUNICATIONS: Future of Civil Society Participation in Doubt

By the end of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society this November in Tunis, the role to be played by civil society in bridging the digital gap and democratising communications will be clearly defined. But many activists are less than optimistic about the eventual outcome.

EDUCATION-SOUTH AFRICA: From Blackboard to SMARTboard

The electronic board in front of the class flickers, and a periodic table is projected onto the screen. "Do you all know what this is?" booms a voice from the loud speaker. "Yes!" the students chorus, as any typical class would.

COMMUNICATIONS: No Agreement on Internet Governance

The script for the final act of the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) will begin to be written on Sep. 19 in this Swiss city, with the participation of a cast that will be made up - for the first time on the international stage - of a wide range of actors: governments, business and civil society.

TECHNOLOGY: African Software Gains Global Popularity

A decade ago, Ubuntu was a word that shook apartheid South Africa. Today, it is a word that may be keeping Bill Gates awake at night.

CHILE: Free Software Activists Criticise Low-Cost Computer Deal

The "My First PC" campaign launched by private companies in Chile with government support has drawn criticism from free software activists, who are working on their own initiatives to expand access to the Internet and the information society.

VIETNAM: Global Markets Are Fine, Not Cyberspace

Vietnam is doing everything it can to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) this year but at the same time its communist government is doing its best to restrict cyber cafes - the main window to the rest of the world for ordinary citizens.