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The first OECD Ministerial meeting ever to be hosted in Asia, on The Future of the Internet Economy, will take place on 17-18 June 2008 in Seoul, Korea. The Ministerial will examine the implications of the rapid growth in the use of the Internet for our economies and societies and the policies needed for continued growth.

Some confirmed speakers:

Mr. Angel GURRÍA Secretary-General OECD	Mr. See Joong CHOI, Chairman, Korea Communications Commission	Mr. Katsuaki WATANABE, President and Representative Director, Toyota	Ms. Viviane REDING, Commissioner for Information Society and Media, EC	Mr. Vint CERF, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google

Mr. Waldemar PAWLAK, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister, Ministry of Economy, Poland	Mr. Subramanian  RAMADORAI, CEO, Tata Consultancy Services	Ms. Mitchell BAKER, Chairman, Mozilla Foundation	Mr. Kevin MARTIN, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission	Mr. Jim PRENTICE, Minister, Ministry of Industry, Canada

OECD Ministerial : Non-Governmental Stakeholder Forums, 16 June 2008

Three non-governmental stakeholder Forums will take place at the COEX centre in Seoul, Korea on 16 June, just prior to the Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy. The objective of the Forums is to bring into the Ministerial the perspective of business, civil society groups, organised labour and of the Internet technical community. Forums’ outcomes will be reported to Ministers during the plenary session on the 17^th. More information on the Forums are available on the Ministerial Programme.

Recent Reports

Analytical reports intended as background for the Ministerial meeting are being released over the next few weeks. Those available in this newsletter include:

• Global opportunities for Internet access development (February 2008). This report examines expanding the economic and social opportunities made possible by the Internet, for the next several billion users. 
  
  Online debate: Ask the economists: Internet and development - towards a Wider World Web? What benefits would the Internet bring to the developing world? And what impact would the arrival of several billion new users have on the Internet as we know it today? Click here to read the questions and answers from this online debate with OECD economist Sam Paltridge.

• RFID applications, impacts and country initiatives (April 2008). RFID is a promising new technology with a rapidly growing range of applications, often integrating other new technologies such as sensors. Eight major fields of application are analysed, impacts are discussed and country initiatives described.

Other recent reports

• Developments in fibre technologies and investment (April 2008). This paper provides an overview of developments in optical fibre communication technology and investment.

• Public rights of way for fibre deployment to the home (April 2008). Fibre network deployments in the last mile are viewed as a key technology for communications access in the high-speed broadband market providing capacity that is symmetric and can support multiple play services. One factor which can slow the pace of fibre investment in the local loop is the cost associated with legal and regulatory procedures in obtaining permits for access to streets, roads, and other public lands as well as barriers to access existing ducts. 

• At a Crossroads: "Personhood" and Digital Identity in the Information Society (February 2008). This paper discusses the relationship between the development of digital identity management and the concept of personhood, and the broader links to trust in the information society.

Upcoming events

OECD Developing Global Strategies for Combating Identity Theft, Washington (5 May): The presentation will provide information on developments and trends, focusing in particular on the growing use of the Internet to conduct ID crime.  Efforts to combat the theft will be described, as will policy guidance that was recently approved by the OECD’s Committee on Consumer Policy. The discussants will provide further insights on how issues are affecting consumers in Canada and the United States.

Workshop on ICTs and Environmental Challenges, Copenhagen (22-23 May): the aims of this workshop include: taking stock of the impacts of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the environment including in efficient buildings, transport and distribution and distance working; analysis of both positive effects and issues of ICT recycling; identifying areas for further analysis of the application and use of ICTs to further environmental goals; considering policy implications and the development of goals and priorities.

Recent events

OECD Workshop on Fibre Investment and Policy Challenges, Stavanger, Norway (10-11 April 2008): The aim of the workshop was to examine fibre investment across the OECD and look for best practices across a range of investment scenarios. The workshop also examined how regulations concerning fibre are evolving in OECD countries and how to ensure that these networks help promote effective competition.

Expert workshop on public sector information, Paris, France (4-5 February 2008): This expert workshop on “The Socioeconomic Effects of Public Sector Information on Digital Networks" provided analysis and insights into the measurement and impacts of public sector information (PSI) access and use. It focused on different approaches for evaluating the direct and indirect economic and non-economic benefits and costs of PSI access and reuse policies, evaluation of these approaches and suggestions for future work.

Measuring the Information Society

• Measuring Security and Trust in the Online Environment: A View Using Official Data (January 2008). This paper reviews available official statistics on trust and security in the online environment. It discusses whether security concerns are an obstacle to Internet use and examines how people and companies protect their equipment and networks.

• Measuring User-Created Content: Implications for the ICT Access and Use by Households and Individuals Surveys (January 2008). User-created content (UCC) on line is emerging as a significant area of economic and social activity worthy of consideration for official measurement. This paper reviews recent measurement work on UCC undertaken in OECD countries.

• Key ICT indicators

About Us

The goal of the OECD's work on Information and Communication Policy is to help governments maximise the benefits of the "information society". Emerging trends in ICT technologies, applications and uses constantly challenge policy development and co-ordination. Through benchmarking and analysis, the OECD is able to help countries with analysis, recommendations and best practices. More information about OECD work on the information society.

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