"The internet, the internet - what internet?" this man asked

For one old man, it was "something for the youngsters," while a policeman did not have the time to look into it.

The correspondent stressed that the cost of a cheap PC and modem, about $500, is out of the reach of most villagers. The poor telephone connections that plague the Russian countryside are a further deterrent.

But Levashovo now boasts two full-time internet users - village shopkeeper Nina Rubashkina and businessman Vyacheslav Zverev.

Mrs Rubashkina, who has been using a computer for the past few years in her shop and now has a second PC at home for her student daughter, says that phone costs are a big obstacle. She can get a connection only by going through the long-distance operator every time.

Mr Zverev, for his part, asks why a village should be "inferior to a city" and explains that for him the primary importance of the new site is its advertising potential.

Information flow

For computer programmer Andrei Fomichev, the internet means the freedom to spread news and information over Russia's vast, remote spaces.

Mrs Rubashkina longs for an operator-free connection

"The internet ensures freedom of speech and freedom of information," he says in the NTV report. The television channel is itself locked in a bitter battle over ownership, which its journalists say threatens their editorial independence.

"People must know what is going on in the country and the truth in general," Mr Fomichev says.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.