Schroeder unveils plan to boost German Internet use

HANOVER, Germany -- Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has unveiled a plan to boost Internet use by Germans, including thorough Internet training for the unemployed and online computers for all schools and libraries.

"We would like to make mastery of the Internet part of overall education," he told the Expo 2000 World's Fair on Monday. "By next year all schools will be equipped with computers linked to the Internet.

"All public libraries will get free Internet access."

About a fifth of German schools have Internet access, compared with about 95 percent in the U.S.

Like much of Schroeder's plan, the measure seeks to maximise private sector contribution to boost the Internet. AOL Europe and Deutsche Telekom have already announced initiatives this year to wire schools and provide Internet access.

Schroeder also said German universities would create 60,000 new places for students specialising in information technology by 2003. Nearly two million Germans study at university.

The German education system -- run mostly by the country's 16 federal states -- controls the number of students studying different subjects, a limitation that has lead to a shortage of computer experts in recent years.

Schroeder promised to clarify some tax uncertainties related to the Internet. For example, he said a rumoured tax on private use of the Internet at workplaces would not be imposed.

Another part of the initiative foresees offering the unemployed an "Internet driver's licence" allowing them basic training in Internet use. "We do not want to divide society into users and non-users," Schroeder said.

In his speech outlining a key role for the Internet in the future economy, the German leader also vowed to use technology to improve service from the country's much-derided bureaucracy.

Such a plan would allow students to apply and repay for education loans or even submit lawsuits via the Internet, Schroeder said.

But he named a date of 2005 for German cities, states and the federal government to offer comprehensive online service.

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