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UWPR reports that few experts dispute that young people in Bishkek are internet crazy. The centre of the capital is crammed with internet cafes and clubs, many of them open 24 hours a day and almost permanently full with users, most of them young. A specially created state commission reported that it found more than a hundred children sitting in internet cafes playing games during school hours and at night over a one-month period. Horrified by the amount of time that teenagers and even small children are spending in Bishkek’s internet cafes when they should either be in class or in bed, the authorities in the Kyrgyz capital have voted to ban them from going clubs during school hours and after seven in the evening. The city council said it feared children were also viewing pornographic material or visiting sites espousing extremist views without supervision. Vyacheslav Krasienko, deputy chair of the city council said the local by-law, which came into force in January, would apply to all young people under the age of 18. A special regulatory body will be established shortly to make sure the law is observed. Reasonable prices make them affordable to most people, especially when several youngsters club together and pay to use a single computer. An hour of internet access costs only about 20 soms, just over 50 US cents. Playing games over the web is even cheaper at just 10 soms an hour. Whereas, some experts argue that unrestricted access to certain kinds of sites might be responsible for rising crime rates. Bishkek psychologist gives an opinion that it also reflects changing patterns of the family life in the city. On the other hand, the owners of Internet Cafes say that this ban will not solve non-attendance problem. It should be dealt on a different level – developing more school programs, clubs, sports, and engagement of parents in education at home. At the same time, under the ban internet cafes risk loosing most part of their income and they will either continue to allow children in, or go bankrupt. Source: IWPR 01.18.2008Link to article: http://iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=342051&apc_state=henprca