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Internet phone services are increasingly popular in many places around the world, including Central Asia. Recently at the VON Europe Conference, there was talk of applying regulations to voice-over IP. There are also grey areas in this discussion because Skype, the exceptionally popular Internet phone software, is not technically a VOIP application. Next call for Net phoning: Regulation, International Herald Tribune, May 26, 2005

Using Cell Reporter, one can get up-to-date news including about Andijon. An update on events in Andizhan on your cell phone screen, Ferghana.Ru, May 18, 2005

"A letter signed by Deputy Premier Rustam Azizov was cabled to Uzbek media outlets the other day. The letter is essentially an instruction on how the recent events in Andizhan should be covered, according to executive of a Dzhizak regional TV studio who insisted on anonymity. 'The letter is quite explicit. We are supposed to offer "a true picture" of the tragedy in Andizhan consistent with what the president said at his press conferences on May 15 and 17,' the executive said. Local correspondents point out, however, that ordinary Uzbeks' opinions of the Andizhan tragedy certainly differ from the official. Many of them speak their mind openly knowing that these words cannot be traced to them." Uzbek media outlets received official instructions from the authorities on how they were supposed to cover the Andizhan events, Ferghana.ru, May 24, 2005

"The Condition and Developing Future of Uzbekistan's Communication and Information Technology" international scientific-technical conference kicked off at Tashkent's Information Technology University. Aloqachilarning xalqaro konferentsiyasi [International communications conference], UzA, May 11, 2005

As of May 14, 2005, the Uzbek government's take on the shootings in Andijon is that a small group of armed men attacked the local prison, and 9 people were killed and 34 were injured. The attackers held a group of women and children hostage and would not compromise. See Andijon shahridagi voqealar to`g`risida [About the events in Andijon] or New update on events in Andizhan. UzA, the national news agency, has had rather few news or press releases about Andijon.

"Making his first trip abroad since a bloody crackdown on protesters, Uzbek President Islam Karimov left yesterday on a visit to China, which has provided a rare note of support for the authoritarian Central Asian leader.... China stresses the importance of maintaining stability in Central Asia through the China-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose members include Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The group set up an anti-terrorism center in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, although the move is viewed as largely symbolic. China said ethnic Uighur separatists are fighting for an independent Islamic state in its western region of Xinjiang, about 120 miles from Andijan, and share Uzbekistan's Muslim religion and Turkic language roots. Foreign experts said Beijing is using the specter of terrorism as an excuse to tighten control there." AP via Seattle Times, May 25, 2005.

The Association for Progressive Communications' Women's Networking Support Programme notes that men are often the primary developers of content and technology. The exclusion of women lowers the political awareness of women and may also permit a culture of violence against women. Association for Progressive Communications, "In more ways than one, ICTs do help to harm women"

In Nepal, where Internet use is still emergent, the government has passed legislation in anticipation of future growth in hardware and software markets. "The Cyber Act includes laws relating to digital signatures, computer crimes, intellectual property and telecommuni-cations. The importance of digital signatures is growing by the day with the development of new standards in electronic records, e-mail and electronic transactions. Uniformity of standards counts a lot in any sector. To maintain such standards, appropriate laws are required. So, a suitable legal framework needs to be in place to maintain the standards in the e-sector." "Cyber Act A Stepping Stone To ICT Development," by Uttam Maharjan

Tribune-Uz is in Uzbek, Russian and English. The articles are translations/submissions from various western press sources (BBC, RFE/RL, etc). The site has a fair amount of information on the events in Andijon and the reactions of outside countries (United States, Germany, Russia, UK, etc), which offers a different perspective than the official story from Uzbekistan's government. Pravda.ru archive of Russian language coverage of the events in Andijon.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has a special section on the May 2005 political unrest in Uzbekistan.

Bunt, Gary R. (2003). Islam in the Digital Age: E-Jihad, Online Fatwas, and Cyber Islamic Environments. London and Sterling, VA: Pluto Press. See some reviews of this book and the companion Web site.

There are 3, 194 registered names in the .uz domain, but 700 of them are estimated to be active Web sites according to the Internet festival. ferghana.ru, May 11, 2005.

"Uzbek President Islam Karimov called to use Internet widely and promote information on Uzbekistan on 9 May. President Karimov visited the Square of Mourning Mother and laid a wreath under the Mourning Mother Monument. Speaking with journalists after the ceremony, Uzbek leader said it is impossible to barrier Internet and it is wrong to do so. Karimov compared Internet to large shop, where buyers purchase necessary goods for themselves. He said the youth should be trained to choose right products, as well as information over Internet. He added Uzbekistan must provide more own information, including works of Uzbek writers and poets through Internet. President Karimov said people should be provided wide range of information to choose from, adding that young people get information through Internet, not libraries." UzReport.com, May 10, 2005.

"Kyrgyzstan's CEC announced in Bishkek on 7 May that the Kyrgyz language exam for three presidential candidates scheduled for that date has been postponed for one week for technical reasons, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. The three candidates for 10 July presidential elections who were to have taken the exam on 7 May are doctor Jenishbek Nazaraliev, Democratic Movement head Jypar Jeksheev, and industrialist Akbaraly Aitikeev." RFE/RL Newsline, May 9, 2005.

http://www.connect.uz/news.php?newsid=573 Since the very start of the School Connectivity program, IREX has searched for ways to supplement the resources of the 60 Educational Internet Centers (EICs) throughout Uzbekistan. Through an application process with the World Bank, IREX received a donation of 16 DELL Pentium III computers which were distributed to four program schools that had only six computers in their centers. As a result of the increased quantity of computers, these four schools can offer expanded opportunities for the EIC users – such as activities aimed at teacher’s training in the use of technology and new methods of teaching in their lessons.

"Number of estimated internet users in Uzbekistan increased by 40% year-on-year to 715,270 in the first quarter of 2005, according to Uzbek Agency for Informatisation and Communication. Number of mobile users rose by 16.7% to 635,000 in January-March. It should be noted that Uzdunrobita had 350,000 users in the end of March. Data transfer networks’ number grew by 6% to 552 and number of collective internet points rose by 15% to 433. Income of communication and information sector increased by 24.7% year-on-year and volume of services rendered to population by 30.1%." May 4, 2005, from UzReport.com

Empowering Youth and Connecting Schools: Lessons from the SchoolNet Namibia Approach "Schools in developing countries are beginning to get computers and access to the Internet. They are using them in teaching and administration; learners also use them to become computer and Internet literate. Resulting from an evaluation commissioned by Sida, this infobrief draws on the SchoolNet Namibia approach and its achievements. It suggests that programmes like this should give priority to the provision of affordable access using open platforms, pay attention to longer term cost of ownership issues, leverage change through partnerships, work closely with governments, involve school principals and teachers, and seek to ensure that necessary capacities are developed in schools themselves." from the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, February 2004.

"National Internet Festival 'Uzbekistan 2005' will be held in May-June 2005 to boost Internet in the country, a press release of the organisers said. The festival was initiated by Internet community of Uzbekistan and supported by the Uzbek Agency for Communication and Informatisation. Editorial board of magazine InfoCOM.UZ will coordinate and organise the festival. Uzbektelecom, national telecommunication operator, is general sponsor of the event. The festival will be aimed at development of information resources and services in .Uz domain segment and inventory of existing resources in .Uz and other domains, as well as promotion the best Internet resources....Currently, there are some 700,000 Internet users in Uzbekistan. Active Internet users make up only 1-2% of population of Uzbekistan. Over 3,000 sites were registered in .Uz domain, of which regularly updated some 1,000-1,200." posted on UzReport.com 4-29-05. See official sites: www.internetfestival.uz or www.if.uz. [note: these sites don't seem to be working at the moment.]