Internet televisions to widen access

Children will access the internet via television sets

Televisions are to be used to widen access to the internet for school children in the United States.

In an attempt to provide online access to youngsters without computers at home, a project - called Wish TV - is to be announced in Washington on Tuesday offering internet access through an ordinary television set.

Set-top boxes and connections to a cable phone line will be provided by companies supporting the first phase of the scheme - allowing children to use their televisions as monitors for the internet.

Billy Tauzin says this will help poorer children to benefit from the internet

However, after a first year's free access, it is expected that there would be a subscription charge for the cable connection.

Republican congressman, Billy Tauzin, said that when he had seen how the system worked "I thought, 'eureka!' This is what we are looking for. This is putting kids who can't afford computers on the internet with their schools and their teachers using their old analogue television sets."

Digital divide

The project, which is backed by companies including Motorola, Scientific Atlanta and WorldGate, will begin by providing equipment for children in a dozen schools - with the expectation of expanding the project in the future.

There has been growing concern in the United States at the "digital divide", in which the educational benefits of using the internet have been denied to children from poorer families.

With access to the internet at home tending to be among better-off families, there have been reports that new technology could exaggerate the differences in educational achievement between rich and poor.