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<DIV>From the <A
href="http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994470">New
Scientist</A>: At the moment, key decisions about internet standards, technology
and regulation are made by an array of US private sector organisations. The most
visible of these is the ICANN, which has operated the global domain name system
since 1988, under an agreement with the US government. But some nations have
called for control of the internet to be handed to an international body such as
the UN's International Telecommunications Union (ITU). They feel this would give
them greater say in such matters. However, in talks held at the weekend, member
states agreed only to create a working group of industry, government and public
sector experts to discuss the issue and make recommendations at the next WSIS
(<A href="http://www.itu.int/wsis/">WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY</A>)
meeting in 2005. This "decision not to decide" was expected by those familiar
with UN affairs. <BR>As world leaders were considering the future of the
internet, the man who took it out of the lab and into the mainstream took
centre-stage (<A href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3306767.stm">BBC
News</A>). At an event to mark the opening of the UN technology summit in
Geneva, Tim Berners-Lee was reunited with the machine he used to invent the web.
With UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at his side, he used the world's first web
server to send an e-mail to more than 80 schools worldwide. "I hope we can all
use the web to realise that other people are just like ourselves even if they
speak different languages or have different abilities," said the message. In an
event heavy with symbolism, the man responsible for an information revolution
used a piece of the internet's history to send an inspirational message to
schoolchildren across the world. "This event reminds us how young and full of
promise the web is," said Mr Annan as he stood at Mr Berners-Lee's side. "It
should serve as a challenge to us and to encourage all of us to stay
connected."</DIV></BODY></HTML>