INDIA, August, 13, 2001: Under a new program launched by the Indian Postal Department, the country’s villagers will be able to send and receive letters through email accounts set up in their name. The Postal Department has begun this novel scheme on an experimental basis in five southern and western Indian states. The department’s secretary, BN Som, told journalists that the program has been launched to extend the benefits of the internet to semi-urban and rural areas. Currently only two percent of India’s population has access to personal computers. Under the new plan, post offices will be wired up to computers and the internet. Mail received on the internet in the name of account holders will then be distributed by the local postman. More than 200 e-post centers have already been set up in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
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