that half of the world's people have never made a phone call because there are no phones. In some parts of the world, women are being given "micro loans" to allow them to purchase a cell phone and establish a small business to support their families. These businesses succeed because they fill a need for inexpensive communications for poor villages.

Connecting all the world's villages to the Internet sounds like a good idea but the devil is in the details. There are also a lot of countries where the powers that be don't like the idea of the people being able to learn about the world except through the "official news agencies."

As for the logistics of making it happen, some rudimentary technology already exists and much of the rest is on the horizon. Notebook computers don't require a lot of electricity and their batteries could be recharged with a small solar panel. Connectivity is a tougher issue but technology like Teledesic could solve that problem if we can figure out who will pay for all of this. Environmental concerns like high humidity or dust/sand can't be ignored, either. Ruggedized computers like the ones the miltary use would be a better alternative but they're a lot more expensive than your run of the mill PCs.