Nation to Increase Internet Know-howThe fact that less than 1 percent of Chinese population has Internet access has prompted the country to launch a long-term education programme on information technology, especially in less-developed regions, it was announced at a recent symposium in Beijing.Most of China's Internet subscribers - 8.9 million by the end of last year - are concentrated in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. For most Chinese people, the Internet is still a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, said Liu Jie, a Xinhua News Agency official. The agency and Langchao Group, a key State-owned information technology company, have decided to spearhead a 15-year campaign to help integrate the Internet into the life of average citizens, said Liu. Starting this month, the Shandong-based Langchao Group will open free schools in 200 cities to teach basic IT knowledge. Students on summer vacation and others can come use computers under the guidance of professionals, said Sun Pishu, general manager of the Langchao Group, the country's major Internet equipment supplier. The school courses will be accompanied by 2,500 lectures and expositions, which will showcase network information equipment and applications, he said. Meanwhile the group will ship specially-designed, low-cost computers for browsing the Internet and conducting distance education and community e-commerce, Sun said. "We expect that it will take three to five years to complete the education programme on networks and IT among the ordinary people," he said. In the coming phases, Langchao and other Chinese IT-companies will develop the country's copyrighted networks platform and popular software applications to allow people to get hooked up to the Internet at lower costs, according to sources at the symposium. The ambitious project to get Chinese people on line will be joined and supported by local governments, enterprises and the media, said symposium sources. |
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