The [him] moderator wonders if this increase in centres will increase readership as email addresses are few and web access limited.

Myanmar to set up more internet centers this year

Yangon: Myanmar will expand internet services to four cities in the
country this year to facilitate communications especially business and
education, a local weekly reported Tuesday.

The cities cover the new capital of Pyinmana, Pyay, Taunggoo and Magway,
the Voice quoted computer industry sources as saying.

Internet centers are available in major cities such as Yangon, Mandalay,
Taunggyi, Mawlamyine and Monywa.

Yangon, which is the Myanmar Teleport (previously Bagan Cybertech), has a
private internet service provider (ISP). It had initiated the internet and
the internet-based telephone system in 2001 in cooperation with the Shin
Satellite Co. of Thailand.

According to official statistics, the number of internet users in Myanmar
has topped 70,000.

Meanwhile, a Myanmar and a Canadian information and communication
technology (ICT) companies have reached a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) to run an ISP in Myanmar as part of the country's bid to expand such
services, reports said.

A Hong Kong (HK) company, the SS8 Networks Inc., has also agreed with an
ICT company of Myanmar to run security services for ISPs in Myanmar,
according to earlier reports.

Myanmar has launched some e-government systems including e-visa,
e-passport, and e-procurement to effect management of government bodies.

Myanmar introduced e-education system in early 2001. Being a signatory to
the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement initiated at the regional summit in
Singapore in 2000, Myanmar has also formed the e-National task Force to
support the IT development.

The country has also signed a series of MoUs with companies from Malaysia,
Thailand and an ASEAN organization on ICT development.

Xinhua General News Service
3 January 2006