Non-journalists can purchase copies of WRI reports through our online bookstore . It warns, however, that it will be difficult to provide the world's six billion people with access to digital networks and the opportunities, services, and social empowerment they provide. Opportunities are everywhere. In opening the conference, Carly Fiorina, chairman and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, said that we are now at the beginning of a second renaissance, the digital renaissance.
Invention is once again the prime virtue.
But this time the tools for invention can be extended to every corner of the earth. The report recounts various novel business models and innovative approaches now in use to apply information technologies where they are most needed. It enables farmers to check the latest crop prices and helps wives maintain contact with their husbands who work overseas. These are digital community centers that give villagers access to telemedicine, the Internet and electronic trading. Students comprise one-third of the country's population.