Queen views Net as portal to peace

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Queen views Net as portal to peace
By GARRY BARKER
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER
Monday 13 March 2000

Her Majesty the Queen, one of the more prominent users of the Internet, believes the communications revolution sweeping the world must be used to bring all people closer.

In her Commonwealth Day message she said the advantages that technology was bringing had to be available to all and not allowed to create fresh divisions.

Exciting though all the new developments were, "what matters most is what we say to each other," she said. The Commonwealth was well-placed to accept the challenge because of its common language and the non-government networks being developed in many countries.

This challenge, she said, could be defined as how communications might be used for the common good.

The Queen and her staff at Buckingham Palace apparently believe in putting their money where Her Majesty's mouth is. The palace has had an efficient interactive website (www.royal.gov.uk) for more than two years and, if the Queen does not herself answer the thousands of e-mails sent to the site every year, someone in the palace does.

But whether the Queen is more skilled on the computer than her Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair - who has confessed to preferring snail mail over e-mail - remains a royal mystery. But questions and comments in the e-mailed messages published on Insight, the Queen's electronic monthly magazine, cover an extraordinary range of topics. Currently it has a distinctly Australian flavor. Among the latest e-mails is one from Jonathan Juler of Melbourne asking the palace to settle an argument with his sister about whether the Queen smokes. "Your sister is quite right," came the reply. "The Queen does not smoke."

Internet-awareness seems to run in the royal family. Prince Charles has his own website at www.princeofwales.gov.uk where an online forum is run for visitors to have their say on a range of topics.

On the Queen's website, sections deal with the royal family's activities, the history of the monarchy, the royal palaces, royal collections and information on ceremonies. Also, in a prominent place on the main menu, is the memorial site for Princess Diana.

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Comment:
What can I say - I'm a Republic campaigner.

Regards from OZ

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), March 12, 2000

Answers

Pieter,

Anyone who thinks the Net is a "Portal to Peace" hasn't been reading TB2000 or BIFFY :^)

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), March 13, 2000.


Perhaps the Queeeeen should be 'netted'

-- Royal (JellyOnMy@Toast.com), March 13, 2000.

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