Nations wrestle with internet age

December 16, 2003

By Alfred Hermida

BBC News Online technology editor in Geneva

A shift in how people see the internet took place in Geneva at the

end of last week, though few may have noticed.

For the first time, politicians, business representatives and

development workers sat down at a global forum to wrestle with a

subject few know much about and many fear.

At the World Summit on the Information Society, organised by the UN,

some 170 countries endorsed what has been called the first

constitution for the information age.

The documents reflect the growing awareness of leaders of the

political, economic and social impact of the internet and other

communication technologies.

In a sense, the internet can no longer be seen as the sole domain of

technical experts. It has evolved into a global resource, with

divisions emerging over how best to exploit it.

The declaration of principles and action plan adopted at the summit

set ambitious goals to ensure that more than half of the world has

access to some form of electronic media by 2015.

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