What is India's future in cyberspace?
India can become a superpower and fundamentally my confidence stems from thefact that competition will be dictated by software. This is one area wherewe are incredibly competent. We can leverage that to become a superpower. Itis important because tomorrow's world is going to belong to infomediariesand e-services. We have to leverage on existing e-commerce and e-business.Essentially, we have to try and create a mindset for 2000 and beyond. Thismeans that we come up with new business models which fit the future.

What will drive the growth of the internet in India?
The most important driver I think is the fact that customer convenience istaking priority. Then there is the aspect of geographic reach. This is thekind of combination which can be had only on the internet.

The second key driver I think is the fact that with the internet, India hasthe potential to leapfrog in technology and induct the latest businesspractices.

Do we need to adopt e-commerce models that suit Indian realities?
When we are looking at a leadership position for India, we should befocussed on global markets and not just Indian markets because there are noboundaries anymore.

But talking strictly in the Indian context, the brick-and-click businessmodel is probably more suitable to our country. To that extent we should bemore focussed on the physical world as well as on the virtual world. But letme emphasise that business in India which is based on the internet shouldnot feel constrained by business models that can work only domestically.

Your business model have to be good for both the domestic as well as theglobal market. For instance, we can provide IT services out of India servingthe world.

Will low PC penetration levels in India hinder the growth of theinternet?
While the PC population is approximately 3 million now you have in thevicinity of 60 million television sets of which about 20 million areconnected by cables. This could be one area that will drive growth.

Then, lets not forget that there are cyber cafes and kiosks which have animportant role to play in the Indian context. For every subscription, thereare multiple users. What it means is that there are many ways people willaccess the internet and not just through PCs. If it were to be only PCs,then we have a major problem on our hands.

How is HP placed in this environment?
First of all, we are focussing on creating an ecosystem which hopefullycompletes the customer experience in terms of complete transactions. We haveidentified opinion makers or leaders, essentially people who can take a leapof faith and are willing to try out new areas. They will be major players incompleting these transactions.

We are putting into place a system for certain projects based on ourcriteria where we are even willing to take risks and rewards.

So, we are putting the skin into the game in the sense that we can share ourrewards with our customer. We are also building financing programmes thatwill support these models which are evolving right now.

How much of an irritant is the presence of a strong gray market in the PCindustry?
Honestly in India there is a place for both. It is a healthy trend because Ithink we have distinct markets and both have a role to play. So I don'tthink it is a negative trend. That is a reality and a positive reality atthat. This is something which we have to look at and instead of saying thatthey are hurting the country, I'd say that the gray market is contributingto the computerisation of India.