~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

[Year 1997]
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[Year 1999]
[Year 2000]
[Year 2001]

Net closes in on Vietnam

The authorities in Vietnam have granted licences to four companies to provide computer users with access to the Internet.

The decision means that individuals and businesses will for the first time be able to send and receive electronic mail as well as visiting international web sites.

At present Vietnam has an internal 'Intranet' system, which operates through the national telephone network but is not connected to the outside world.

And despite the granting of licences, an Internet service will not be widely available until the telephone lines linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Hong Kong have been upgraded.

Even then, access will be restricted; individuals will not be allowed to take part in on-line discussions about economic, political, cultural and social issues in Vietnam.

Until now, Vietnam has repeatedly postponed access to the Internet because of fears about the huge flow of unrestricted information from the outside world and the effect it could have on a society where the local media are still strictly controlled.

The move towards Internet access comes as a report issued by the World Bank urges Vietnam to create an economy which uses the country's resources more efficiently and generates more highly skilled jobs for its workers.

BBC 19 Nov 1997