Indian gift links Cambodia to cyberspace

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KHAN TAK MAO, Cambodia -- It may be vacation time, but students still hang out at a small number of schools in impoverished Cambodia, lured by free Internet kiosks that can get them up to speed in cyberspace.

At a high school outside the capital, Phnom Penh, some students research Asian architecture, others check soccer results, and a few, such as Keo Nimol, 12, just silently watch.

"I don't know how to use the Internet," he confessed, peering over the shoulder of another student checking e-mail, though he has been dropping by since the project opened in April.

The four kiosks funded by the Indian government and spread around this war-scarred, mostly agricultural country, are designed to allow the poor to see the wonders of the Internet.

"The aim is to arouse students' curiosity, encourage them to learn. It's a self-learning process," said Indian diplomat V.K. Sharma.

Students clamor for their turn to log on.

"I saw other people using it, and I just learned. It wasn't very difficult," said Hak Yoty, 16, perched on a railing as he browses using one of the two terminals.

Some 49 similar kiosks are open in India, and 30 have been installed in Egypt; talks are under way to set up more in Laos and the Philippines, said Ashoo Dubey, systems executive with NIIT, the company providing them.

On average, the kiosks cost $8,000 to $10,000. Access is monitored remotely from New Delhi, with only porn sites being blocked.

"It's a new frontier for Cambodian children, accessing the Internet, e-mail, and seeing what's online," said Phu Leewood, secretary-general of the government's top IT authority, which is overseeing the project.