The Internet in Asia

Philippines still an e-commerce backwater

E-commerce has not taken off as quickly and as much in the Philippines as was expected, and this has largely been attributed to low Internet penetration rates, standing at only 10%. Currently, e-commerce is only popular in the banking industry in the Philippines, and even then most of their e-business is conducted with overseas companies.

More than 63,000 Internet users in Myanmar

Although there has been a significant increase in the number of Internet users in Myanmar over the last 5 years (up  to 63,700 from a few thousand people in 2000), it still only measures up to 1 Internet user every 1,000 people - the lowest penetration rate in Southeast Asia.

As part of its involvement in the the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement  that was initiated in Singapore in 2,000, Myanmar has also initiated its own e-National task Force to support the IT development in the country.  Currently, Myanmar has one of the worlds most restrictive Internet access policies. Other forms of mass communications are similarly controlled, and it does not look like the situation will improve any time soon.

China Communist Youth League develops its own MMOPRG

PowerNet Technology, a Chinese online gaming firm, has developed a new online game in cooperation with the China Communist Youth League - "Anti-Japan War Online," . The game is based on

the Japanese invasion of China during World War II, from 1937 through 1945. It is aimed at generating

a "national spirit" and educating the younger Chinese generation.  Players will be able to play in simulations of the larger battles, but only on the Chinese side. To reduce violence, players will not be able to kill each other and soldiers are depicted in miniature.

Skype says texts are censored by China

Skype, a free on-line communications service owned by e-Bay has announced that its partner in China has been censoring text-messages sent within the country. Like Yahoo before, it defends its position, saying that its the only way to do business in China. A spokesperson for the company said that its partner has been censoring text messages with sensitive words like Falun Gong, and that following these laws are no different from abiding by laws set by the other Western countries.

India set to be next online gaming centre

By 2010, India's on-line gaming industry is expected to exceed USD 200 million dollars, largely due to the increase in the number on cyber-cafes with more than 100,000 outlets, increasing use of broadband and a size-able middle class with money to spend. Most importantly, game operators are promoting and educating consumers about on-line games including MMOGs and increasing investment in this area.

Currently India has over 39 million Internet users amd os epected to emerge as one of the top online markets in Asia, along with China, Korea and Taiwan.

Nonaligned nations strike back through new news service

A joint effort by the 114 countries that are members of the Non-Aligned Movement have started an on-line news service aimed at providing an alternative to what they consider unfair coverage by the Western media. The news site can be accessed here.

SMS poll sparks row in among Malaysian Indian Congress members

The Malaysian Indian Congress, the leading party representing the Indian community in Malaysia, is holding party elections on June 24. Two top favorites for the position are S. Subramaniam and G. Palanivel. The ongoing sms poll, being conducted by the Malaysian Public Service Association and the ethnic Nayagan magazine, shows that Subramaniam in the lead. The poll is expected to run until June 20, just four days before the elections.

MIC party president Mr Samy Vellu, who is also Malaysia's Public Works Minister has thrown his support behind Palanivel and disagrees with such methods of polling. He was quoted saying "Only those who have not gained popularity through their services and dedication to the people would seek shortcut popularity via SMS,"  in vanakkammalaysia.com, a popular Malaysian on-line portal for Indians that is published in Tamil, English and Malay.   Both contestants have also distance themselves from the polls, stating that the elections are not a popularity contest, but are instead aimed at selecting the best candidate for the job.

Will Singapore's ban on political blogs work?

According to Asst Prof Cherian George at the School of Communication and Information, NTU one of the big questions to be answered in the upcoming Singapore General Elections is the role of new media technologies in the elections. As TV, radio and other print media is highly regulated here, observers were interested in seeing the role of blogs in these elections. However, these hopes were dashed when Singapore banned political discussions on blogs and podcasts during the election period.

Cherian thinks that most Singaporeans will continue with political discourse on-line, and only those who had any plans of doing something more organized will be more cautious. He also said that since Singapore is a small country, It's partly a numbers game. If only a very small number of readily identifiable individuals flout the rule, then it would be easy for the government to crack down on them and make an example of them," George said, adding this would have a "chilling effect" for the future.

Thus, even 20 bloggers are likely to make an impact. He added that the government is not likely to try and convict them as they would lose much "moral standing" if they were to do so, and this is not the way they have operated in the past.

For other posts on this blog on the same topic, see here and here.

Online Campaign Against Cartoon of Bush as Hindu God

A caricature which ran in the March 3 edition of The International Herald Tribune, a daily owned by the New York Times of George Bush depicts the U.S. president in a suit, holding in one hand a sign that says, "India Nuke Deal," and in another hand a sign that says, "Stop Iran Nukes." Bush is holding a club in his third hand, and what appears to be a hangman's noose in his fourth hand.

Unsurprisingly, the caricature has riled many Hindus who have started an on-line signature campaign to protest its publication in a daily newspaper.Rajesh Gooty, the U.S.-based founder of Indiacause.com, a Web-based portal whose stated purpose it is to safeguard the interests of India, initiated the protest campaign March 22. So far, close to 1,200 people have signed the petition, which he plans to send the NYT demanding that the cartoon be retracted and an unconditional apology be given.

This is not the first time that Indiacause.com  has made its point through on-line campaigns. In the past, it has succeeded in forcing Microsoft to remove the word "disputed" from a map showing the state of Jammu and Kashmir, forced CNN and Fox News to remove an India map drawn without the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and forced the Toronto Star to apologize for publishing an image of a nude Goddess Durga.

Internet governance comes under scrutiny again

As ICANN wrapped up its meeting in Wellington, New Zealand as more and more people start to realize that Internet governance issues go beyond technical issues. One of the main concerns raised is the length of time it takes to establish new domains on the Internet, such as adding to the already existing  domain name extensions, with new domain names such as such as .biz or .info. Another issue of concern is why multilingual domain names have yet to be established as it will allow people to register domain names in their native language. Not surprisingly, this is especially an issue with developing countries where English is not the first language.

Governments are especially becoming more concerned, mainly about  their own national country-code top-level domains such as .sg (for Singapore), while free-speech advocates are worried about how existing  policy has been used to shut down legitimate criticism websites.

Other parties such as the Canadian Internet Registration Authority has published an open letter asking ICANN to implement greater accountability, transparency, and fair processes. Unless action is taken on these issues, it has threatened to suspend payment of thousands of dollars in contributions and cease consideration of a new contractual agreement with the organization and to stop hosting ICANN related events.