Five critical steps to success

Infrastructure - technology must be widely available and easy to access People - knowledge workers have to be trained to use what's available and teach others Policy - strategies must be debated openly and barriers to competition torn down Enterprise - new companies need access to development money and must be able to defend their intellectual property Content - people need something to look at or do with the new technology

The UN Development Programme, technology consultancy Accenture and a charity called The Markle Foundation have got together under the banner of the Digital Opportunity Initiative to research the steps developing nations must take to harness the potential of technology and help their inhabitants escape grinding poverty.

The authors of the report stress that there is "no suggestion" that technology can, by itself, correct problems of political instability, poor physical infrastructure, illiteracy and underdeveloped health care.

But properly applied, they argue, communication and computer-based technologies can go a long way towards improving the quality of life of many of the world's poorest people.

"Technology can be a powerful force for good but of itself its not enough." said Vernon Ellis, chairman of Accenture. "It can only bring about sustainable development if the fundamentals are right."

Policy proposals

The report recommends that nations keen to use communication technologies to help people have to make progress on many fronts. Not only must technology be widely available and accessible, people have to be trained to use it - and there must also be policies in place to encourage use and to help entrepreneurs and innovators thrive.

In the report are many examples of technology-centred projects, such as the African Virtual University, that are helping some of the poorest people on the planet live longer and more prosperous live.