The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in South India is trying to change this-to tackle local problems. The Village Information Project in Pondicherry began with an in-depth study of village needs -- and only when this was complete did it turn to technology. Reconditioned second-hand computers were donated by Byte by Byte, a Tokyo- based organization that collects discarded equipment from companies such as Reuters and Ford Motors and sends them off for second lives around the world. Even in villages without telephones, the Village Information Project brings people the knowledge they need. Free-standing,solar powered computers are updated daily with information relayed through radio handsets and cell phones from a regional centre with direct Internet access. The village computer acts as a bulletin board for the availability of medicine in health centres and credit in microfinance schemes, for market process, transport services and input costs, for warnings of pest, weather and water risks and for educational materials for school children.

Many governments recognize the tremendous potential of the Net and use it to provide public information: From the Indian Ministry of Finance to the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture, government agencies are using Websites to increase the transparency of their operations....