We must also use the Internet to promote our core foreign policy objectives. And we are already deploying information technology to strengthen our security, to promote democracy and human rights and to expand our trade. Here in Washington, the Nuclear Risk Reduction Center uses advanced technology to reduce the risks posed by weapons of mass destruction. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security uses the web for its Heroes Program, to offer rewards, disseminate information abroad and bring international terrorists and criminals before the bar of justice. This is increasingly important to American prosperity in light of projections that by the year 2006 half of the American labor force will work in industries that produce or consume information technology products.
Information is the new currency of the global economy and the key to information is education.
Access to information also leads to personal and political empowerment, and the Internet has become a powerful new tool for promoting freedom. Our annual human rights report is now posted for the citizens of all nations to access. Our embassies are using the web to train journalists, educate voters and strengthen the institutions of civil society. Simply put, information technology can and should enhance our diplomacy. We have a long way to go, but we are now taking confident steps in the right direction.