ICTD News for 06 March 2007

[ICTD Newsmaster <ictdnews@undp.org>]

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 UNDP's ICT for Development (ICTD) Observatory keeps an 
 eye on related critical issues for developing countries. 
 If you have information to contribute to the Observatory please 
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CONTENTS

DIGITAL DIVIDE
	Civil War Hides Steady Growth of Internet Services in Somalia

OPEN SOURCE
	FOSS in E-Governance and E-Government - Perspectives on MDGs
	How the Open Source Movement Has Changed Education: 10 Success Stories

E-GOVERNANCE/E-GOVERNMENT
	Egypt's bloggers test state media control

TELECENTRES/SCHOOLNETS
	China ban on new internet cafes

PRIVACY/SECURITY
	Surge in global Internet scams prompts new U.S. warning to Internet users




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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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---- Civil War Hides Steady Growth of Internet Services in Somalia
Somalia was one of the last African countries to get connected to the Internet after the country established its first ISP in 1999. But today the country has internet connectivity to almost 53% of the whole area of the country and the Internet business is mushrooming in the country and becoming one of the fastest growing services along with telephony.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9329&do=gpage




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OPEN SOURCE
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---- FOSS in E-Governance and E-Government - Perspectives on MDGs
There are numerous cases worldwide where various cities and local authorities are opting for FOSS over proprietary and pirated software as a means to contribute to cultivate grass-root citizens' access to information and knowledge. FOSS provides the opportunity to achieve the MDGs.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9331&do=gpage



---- How the Open Source Movement Has Changed Education: 10 Success Stories
MIT provides just one of the 10 open source educational success stories detailed below. Open source and open access resources have changed how colleges, organizations, instructors, and prospective students use software, operating systems and online documents for educational purposes. And, in most cases, each success story also has served as a springboard to create more open source projects.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9328&do=gpage




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E-GOVERNANCE/E-GOVERNMENT
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---- Egypt's bloggers test state media control
Egyptian bloggers have come into the spotlight, on the one hand as an important forum for political debate, on the other as the target of government attempts to limit their freedom of expression. Earlier this month, Abdel-Karim Suleiman, a 22-year-old former law student at al-Azhar Islamic university, became the first Egyptian jailed for his blogging when he was handed a four-year prison sentence.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9330&do=gpage




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TELECENTRES/SCHOOLNETS
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---- China ban on new internet cafes
Xinhua said the new restrictions were part of a campaign to combat the rising problem of internet addiction. Internet cafes that have already been given approval must be completed by the end of June, the news agency reports.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9327&do=gpage




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PRIVACY/SECURITY
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---- Surge in global Internet scams prompts new U.S. warning to Internet users
Titled ''International Financial Scams -- Internet Dating, Inheritance, Work Permits, Overpayment and Money Laundering,'' the pamphlet says U.S. diplomatic missions abroad are deluged with complaints and questions from Americans about offers for money and companionship that look, and are, too good to be true.
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/perl/news/articles.pl?id=9326&do=gpage




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