Researchers hope to benefit users in developing nations by turning 'feature' phones into virtual smartphones, finds Jan Piotrowski.

An open-source site, CrowdVoice, aims to make governments more transparent and accountable, its co-creator, Esra'a Al Shafei, tells SciDev.Net.

S. Romi Mukherjee outlines human rights-based approaches to science, technology and development, and what they mean for policy and practice.

Using mobile phones in education is a growing trend, but there are challenges to making it sustainable, finds Paula Leighton.

The Internet is spreading to villages in the developing world — but sometimes in unexpected ways, reports Katherine Nightingale.

An eminent Indian scientist believes India can close the urban-rural divide with information technology, writes Daemon Fairless.

Modifying technology in unique ways is helping South Africans communicate, reports BBC Online.

Technologists are at odds over how to bridge the digital divide. What one group calls the ultimate solution, another dismisses as "the scam of the century", reports Waleed al-Shobakky.

Frederick Noronha reports on the efforts of a small group of IT enthusiasts to bring computing to India's multilingual masses.

The Ethiopian government is investing heavily in a national digital network to jump-start the country's development, reports Michael Cross.

Clint Witchalls reports on plans to distribute millions of cheap laptops to schoolchildren in the developing world.

Frederick Noronha explores whether the Simputer — a pocket-sized computing device designed for use by rural populations in India — will live up to its promise of bringing the world of computing to the poor.

Briony Hale describes how — starting with a battered old computer — Hermann Chinnery-Hesse developed Ghana's own software firm, which appears to be holding Microsoft at bay.

Ian Hardy reports that people from all over the globe will soon be given access to one of the world's foremost technology institutes for free.

A stone's throw from the ancient city of Nineveh, Iraq intends to erect a centre for cuneiform research. Many scholars, however, are dubious about the scientific payoff of a tablet-based project in a digital age.