Accelerating Development Using the Web: Empowering Poor and Marginalized Populations

This book explores the fundamental factors that are shaping the use of the Web for social and economic development. It describes the contributors that shape how the Internet grows, and how the Web can be made available to and effective for those billions in need. It addresses issues currently restricting access to the Web — political, technological, economic, cultural and linguistic — and suggests what mechanisms can be brought to bear to accelerate its utilization for poor and under-served populations.

This is a book about both ICTs and the World Wide Web. While the Web is one application of many existing on top of the Internet, it is the application that provides the principal window through which users increasingly access ICTs and which is evolving to permeate many aspects of daily life. It therefore deserves significant attention for its potential in making further significant contributions to assisting poor and underserved individuals and communities throughout the world.