<div>Great! </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Is Google East Africa tracking the utilisation of <a href="http://www.google.co.tz">http://www.google.co.tz</a>? I believe the statistics would provide information on the demand for kiswahili on the internet. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Kind regards</div>
<div>Mwende</div>
<div> </div>
<div><br>Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own.<br> </div>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 8/21/08, <b class="gmail_sendername">Joseph Mucheru</b> <<a href="mailto:jmucheru@google.com">jmucheru@google.com</a>> wrote:</span>
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<div>Just for your information we just launched the <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.google.co.tz/" target="_blank">http://www.google.co.tz</a> domain yesterday with Swahili as the default language. We are also hiring Luganda experts and this is just the start.<br>
<br>--
<div>Joe Mucheru </div>
<div>+254722522135</div>
<div>Google East Africa</div>
<div>
<div>Sent from my iPhone</div></div></div>
<div><span class="e" id="q_11be3d20d77cc912_1">
<div><br>On Aug 21, 2008, at 8:36 AM, "mwende njiraini" <<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:mwende.njiraini@gmail.com" target="_blank">mwende.njiraini@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<br> </div>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Morning!</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Today we move to the final topic of our discussions: Socio-cultural issues.<span> </span></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The internet is increasingly being utilized as a means to deliver essential services including health (Telemedicine), education (e-learning) and governance (e-government services).<span> </span>This has lead to concerns that many may not take advantage of these developments due to socio-cultural issues such as language and other cultural barriers.</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The English language continues to dominate the internet (</span><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm" target="_blank"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none">http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm</span></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">) however there are several successful initiatives that have enabled the use of other languages.<span> </span>Indeed, the Tunis agenda encouraged the realization of multilingualism leading to discussions on domain name management, access to local content, and protection of cultural diversity.<span> </span></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Kiswahili was recently voted an official language by the African Union, and there are already several initiatives that seek to introduce Kiswahili on the internet.<span> </span>With appropriate policies and incentives the internet can become a cultural platform specifically for the preservation of language. In your view is the use of the internet an effective means of language and cultural preservation? </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Again, you are encouraged to contribute to previous discussion threads.<span> </span></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Kind regards</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mwende</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Disclaimer: These comments are the author's own</span></p></div></blockquote></span></div>
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