Japan has moved a step closer to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's goal of creating an e-nation when parliament approved a bill adopting the Information Technology (IT) revolution as a national goal.

The bill, passed by the powerful Lower House, is a building block in a push by Japan to leap out of its position as an Internet laggard and to the global forefront of information innovation within five years. While many young people spend hours surfing the Net on tiny, silver i-mode Internet-friendly mobile telephones,the bulk of the population has yet to venture into cyberspace and the aim of the bill is to make the Internet accessible to Japan's 120 million people. The IT Basic Bill calls on the government to "realise a society that allows vigorous development by making it easy for all people to use highly advanced information and communications networks led by the Internet". Lower House lawmakers also adopted a resolution urging more consideration be given to cutting the sky-high telecoms fees that have long been the biggest deterrent to Internet use. The bill, which must now be approved by the Upper House, urges the revision of regulations blocking the way to the spread of electronic commerce.