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Bill Gates joins the launching of two IT projects

"This is just a recent revelation that is coming from two or three different sources," said Gary Alexander, executive director of Surplus Equipment Consortium/Network Inc., a nonprofit group that represents resellers, parts and service providers. "They indicate the types of legislation and economic-development programs that the Vietnamese government is embracing make them more able to push implementation faster than a lot of the bureaucracies we are seeing in India.

"So while we thought India was next, every indication is that Vietnam may just pull out ahead of them."

Alexander said wafer fabs as well as assembly and test operations are possibilities. The Vietnamese government views the semiconductor industry as a good way to create high-end jobs for the increasing supply of engineers graduating from local universities.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on April 22 joined Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem and Post and Telematics Minister Do Trung Ta in the launching of the One Click pilot project and the Unlimited Potential Programme in Vietnam.

This is the final activity of Mr Bill Gates during his one-day visit to Vietnam and happened in Tu village, Duong Son commune, Tu Son district, Bac Ninh province, about 30 km from Hanoi. Bac Ninh is selected to be Mr Gates' destination as information technology is being applied widely in rural areas and is the first locality in Vietnam has just launched an e-government system.

The "One Click" project is to use Vietnamese-made computers and low-cost Microsoft programmes to connect rural centres using the Internet.

While, the project, named TOPIC 64 or “Training Online Programme on Information Technology for Communities – 64 provinces”, is undertaken and executed by the Centre for Research and Consulting on Management (CFC). It is also part of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential (UP) programme, aimed at broadening digital inclusion and developing human sources all over the world.

TOPIC 64 is jointly funded by Microsoft, the US Agency for International Development (USAID),QUALCOMM, and EVN Telecom. It is the biggest project of its kind in Southeast Asia in the field of information technology training and development.

Under the TOPIC 64, CTCs in 64 provinces of Vietnam will be equipped with software-installed computers with Internet connection, localized UP curriculum in Vietnamese, and UP training programmes, she noted.

Microsoft will co-operate with EVN Telecom to provide service for installation and maintenance of wireless CDMA450 Internet-linked systems and free-use of the Internet for a year. Trainers at the CTCs will also have opportunities to participate in advanced IT training courses.

In addition, Microsoft will also provide localised UP curriculum in Vietnamese to an additional 440 nationwide training centres across the country.

Earlier, the world’s richest man attended a ceremony to sign agreements for supplying software to the Ministry of Finance and the National Steering Committee for Information Technology. Under an agreement, Vietnam's Finance Ministry has become the country's first government office to use completely licensed Microsoft software.

Speaking at a press conference before leaving Vietnam, he said: “I have a very strong optimism not just about our activities here (in Vietnam) but about all the new developments taking place in the country.” Microsoft is committed to playing its role by making a broad set of investments in the country, he added.

Mr Gates said that his Vietnam visit was short, however a number of commitments were reached in an effort to help Vietnam develop information technology. He said that "information technology can play an important role and is suitable to many areas in Vietnam."

He praised the rapid progress in developing information technology in Vietnam and agreed with the Vietnamese leaders' confirmation that IT would be one of the development targets in the country in the coming period.  

He said he believed that the IT sector in Vietnam will achieve great success like India and also  even for export, and Vietnam should learn models from developed countries.
Regarding an agreement signed between Microsoft and the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance on April 22 under which the ministry will purchase 15,000 perpetual licenses for Microsoft Office 2003, he said the licence is concrete proof of the government’s commitment in the years ahead to strengthen the awareness and activities around intellectual property.

He expressed the wish to boost Microsoft's co-operation in Vietnam in the field of IT.
Vietnam is eager to jump-start its high-tech sector, which got a big boost earlier this year when chipmaker Intel Corp. announced plans to build a US $300 million assembly plant in Ho Chi Minh City. Bill Gates' visit is seen as an official nod of recognition that Vietnam has potential.

Source: Vietnamnet)

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