Canada strives to be most wired country.

Canada simply wants to be the most connected nation in the world by next year, according to a Canadian deputy minister. Speaking at the Hong Kong Information Infrastructure Conference, K. Lynch, Canada_s deputy minister of industry, explained how and why his country wants to achieve that goal. Under the umbrella phrase, "Connecting Canadians," the country is instituting six initiatives: Canada Online, Smart Communities, Canadian Content Online, Electronic Commerce, Canadian Governments Online and Connected Canada to the World, he said. The six initiatives aim to ensure that every Canadian has access to leading-edge information technology infrastructure; that a maximum of 10,000 community Internet access sites are set up, along with 12 world-class smart communities; that the country can act as the test-bed for online applications, including "tele-learning" and "tele-health"; that Canada can become a global center for excellence in electronic commerce; that the national government take full advantage of the Net; and that the entire country is fully connected to the rest of the world. Lynch pointed to the implementation of Canada_s SchoolNet project as an example of moving with the times. The project aims to connect each of the country_s 16,500 schools and 3,400 libraries to the Internet, with one networked computer for every classroom, he said. When SchoolNet began in 1994, no schools were on the Net. By 1995, 3,000 schools were connected. That number grew to 7,000 in 1996 and 11,000 in 1997. "By the end of this year, all the schools will be connected to the Internet," Lynch said. SchoolNet projects also are under way in other countries around the world. "Tele-learning" will be absolutely enormous in a world where products change every six months and technology changes every 12 months." He added that in the areas of "tele-learning" and "tele-health," small to midsize companies have the potential to come up with the necessary "killer" applications. In social terms, Lynch said he believes Net connectivity will help to break down the traditional barriers separating inhabitants in urban and rural areas.