Information Economy Report 2005 : E-Commerce and Development

Contents: Foreword. Acknowledgements. 1. ICT indicators for development; trends and measurements issues: i. Introduction. ii. Global and regional trends in ICT uptake. iii. Measuring ICT in developing countries. iv. The road ahead. Annexes. References. Notes. 2. International internet backbone connectivity: issues for developing countries: i. Introduction. ii. Economic aspects of backbone connectivity. iii. The evolution of the global market for internet backbone services. iv. The international dimension. v. Policy options and proposals. References. Notes. 3. E-credit information, trade finance and e-finance: overcoming information asymmetries: i. Introduction. ii. Information economy for accelerated development: the case for credit and e-credit information. iii. Extensive use of credit and e-credit information: the case of credit insurance. iv. Trade-related e-banking and other e-finance. Conclusions. Annexure. References and bibliography. Notes. 4. Taking off: E-tourism opportunities for developing countries: i. Introduction. ii. Global trends in the tourism industry. iii. E-tourism: learning from experience. iv. Conclusions and recommendations. Annexes. References. Notes. 5. Information technology and security: risk management and policy implications: i. Introduction. ii. Concepts and context. iii. The information security industry. iv. Development of security technologies. v. Information security and risk management. vi. International and national policy developments and issues. vii. Concluding remarks. Annexure. References. Notes. 6. Protecting the information society: addressing the phenomenon of cybercrime: i. Introduction. ii. Addressing the phenomenon. iii. Reforming the criminal code. iv. Addressing the data problem. v. Concluding remarks and policy recommendations. Notes.

From the foreword: "The report highlights the extent to which developing countries are striving to close the gap that separates the "information haves and have-nots". It also describes the enormous challenges the world still faces in key areas such as increasing access to the internet and strengthening the security of the online environment. Most important, it shows that when there is awareness, political will and stakeholder involvement in national "e-strategies", progress in the use of ICTs for development is already an exciting reality.

New Technologies and applications continue to emerge. Current technologies are maturing, and old ones are finding new uses. We must ensure that developing countries are not left further behind by all these dramatic changes, but can join in and benefit from them in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This report is meant to contribute to that effort."