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Internet news about Asia, India
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Date: Sun, 11 Feb 1996 18:28:44 -0800
From: madanmohan rao
Hello folks - Here are excerpts from this week's edition of my column, "International Internet NewsClips." The full version plus archives are at MecklerMedia's Internet World site (http://www.iworld.com/netday/NATW.html). You can also find my reviews of books on Internet-related subjects at this site. Comments, feedback, etc. most welcome as always.
* madan
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Madanmohan Rao (rao@igc.org), Communications Consultant, United Nations Inter Press Service bureau.
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Internet Part Of Malaysia's Proposed Info-Tech Policy
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The Seventh Malaysia Plan will incorporate a National Information Technology policy to place Malaysia in the forefront of the information revolution. Education Minister Datuk Najib Tun Razak has announced that all schools will be equipped with resource centres linked to the Internet. Secretary General Lim Kit Siang said Malaysia's future as a developed and equitable society would depend on its ability to respond in a positive and constructive way to the rapid development of information services. (The Star, Malaysia; February 9, 1996) Online Cricket Game Launched In South Africa
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For sport fans around the world, interactive games offer a lounge-seat way of getting into a game and even calling the shots. You can now manage your own World Cup cricket team over the Internet, thanks to four Cape Town students who have started a company called Sports Challenger Systems (http://www.africa. com/~blades/). Greg Distiller, a partner in SCS says: "I thought the Internet was a superior medium to run a competition like this. There are no printing costs and it goes all over the world." Each SCS game costs 50 rand to enter, or the equivalent in other currencies. So far the company has received more international than local entries. (Weekly Mail and Guardian, South Africa; February 9, 1996) Netscape Unveils Plans For Major Move Into Asian Markets
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Netscape Communications unveiled plans this week to set up an Asia-Pacific headquarters to cash in on rapid business growth in the region. Among possible locations are Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, Netscape chairman Jim Clark said. The company plans to have its Asia-Pacific headquarters in place within three months. Netscape presently has only a subsidiary office in Japan, where revenue made up about 10 per cent of its total 1995 sales of US$80.7 million. (Hong Kong Standard; February 8, 1996) China Keeps Watchful Eye On Internet
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The Chinese government is all for the Internet - provided it can control its content. On Sunday, China issued a new set of rules to regulate Internet use, the latest in a recent series of moves to assert control over the flow of information. Rather than try to choke off Internet access, they appear to be steering the flow of electronic information through officially controlled ports so that it can be better monitored. The new regulations require that any network offering Internet service be subject to close supervision by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications or one of three other designated government agencies, the New China News Agency said. The new regulations are intended to ensure "healthier development of the exchange of international computer information," the news agency said. "Neither organizations nor individuals are allowed to engage in activities at the expense of state security and secrets," the agency said. "They are also forbidden to produce, retrieve, duplicate or spread information that may hinder public order." The transmission of pornographic or obscene material is also banned. The state's ability to control information has been steadily eroded by Beijing's own multi-billion-dollar drive to leapfrog out of telecommunications backwardness by installing modern digital telephone and data networks across China. 50,000 to 100,000 people in China may be using the Internet, but one of the main impediments to Internet growth is the high cost. (Hong Kong Standard, February 8; Toronto Globe and Mail, February 6; Reuters News Agency, Financial Times (Britain), The Times (Britain), New York Times, February 5; Associated Press, February 4, 1996) Internet Legislation To Be Formulated In Australia
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1996 is probably going to be a watershed year in Australian Internet history. Decisions are going to be made about what is and is not allowable on-line. Concerned users will have a chance to express their opinions to the Australian Broadcasting Association's On-line Services Investigation, by February 16. The ABA's is the second similar investigation in the last six months. A Senate report last November argued that it should be an offence to "transmit, obtain possession of, demonstrate, advertise or request the transmission of material equivalent to RC (refused classification), R or X categories." But this would mean that the on-line world would be restricted by tighter standards than the off-line world. The ABA has issued a comprehensive Issues Paper for its inquiry (http://www.dca.gov. au/aba/olsissue.htm). Available since December, the paper deals with the concepts of codes of practice, the development of a representative industry body, the establishment of an independent complaints-handling body and other mechanisms for controlling access in the on-line environment. It also looks at consumer and Australian content issues on the Net, provides a handy guideline to censorship classification, and a summary of the findings of the Office of Film and Literature Classification's own informal search of the Net - 27 hours of porn hunting yielded the discovery that "restricted and refused classification material was difficult to find, at times difficult to download, and was more prevalent on Usenet newsgroup files than on the World Wide Web." The ABA accepts submissions by e-mail (online@aba.gov.au). (Sydney Morning Herald; February 6, 1996) Nations See Internet As Cultural, Political, Economic Threat
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Nations are discovering that data sent via the Internet can be every bit as threatening to a country's laws or its culture as the armies of yesteryear. "Nation states are trying to assert themselves with increasing aggression into cyberspace," said Electronic Frontier Foundation's John Perry Barlow, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It's not just cultural or social sovereignty that governments worry about. The power to tax is also being eroded by the increase in economic transactions that take place over the Internet, some of it encrypted so that prying eyes of the tax department could not read them. "You can't control it, it's uncontrollable," said MIT's Nicholas Negroponte. "If someone tells you that you can, they are probably smoking pot." (Toronto Globe and Mail; February 3, 1996) Privatisation Measures For Internet In India Still Problematic
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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided to allow companies in India to provide Internet services for a fee. However, all the companies would have to route their services through VSNL, the country's monopoly caterer of international traffic. The privatisation measures are likely to draw flak unless the huge license fee and the poor quality of DoT lines are also checked. Private service providers of e-mail have come out with complaints about the existing "unreliable and ineffective" DoT lines. Reports say that while countries such as Britain and Holland are using lines which can carry 128 Kbps or 256 Kbps, India is still pegged at below 128 Kbps. The rates at which lines are to be leased by the DoT are also said to be very high. Other concerns focus on the inadequate security being provided on the Internet by VSNL at present. Many "crackers" are said to be tampering with passwords and personal information of users. (The Hindu, India; January 27, 1996) ```
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