In an effort to demonstrate the benefits of the online world to people who have yet to enjoy the privilege, Google has begun touring India in an “Internet Bus”.
The Internet Bus Project spent it’s first week touring Vellore, Krishnagiri, and Salem. According to the projects homepage, the bus has had a bit of trouble and will need to have a some work done on it before progressing with the tour.
The bus is of course internet-enabled highlighting the many uses of the internet from education through to entertainment. All the content is made available in both English and in Tamil, focusing on demonstrating the benefits of email, search, maps and social media.
Dr Prasad Ram, Head of Google R&D India, says:
“We are passionate about empowering users with information and the Internet democratizes access to information. With this initiative we want to take the power of this medium to people who will really benefit from it. We believe that if we can get people to experience the Internet even briefly they will find the means to go back again.”
The Google Internet Bus was launched in India on February 3, 2009 and will journey through 15 towns in Tamil Nadu up to March 15, 2009. You can keep up to date by visit their Internet Bus Project homepage.
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