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With places like Bangalore and Hyderabad emerging as the "Silicon Valleys of the East" in recent years, it is not surprising that Internet usage in India has exploded. A survey of some 30,000 web users earlier this year indicates that there are some 23 million urban Indians online at present (only about 9% of the urban population) with growth projected at about 20% per year. Moreover, more than 1/3 of these users are online more than 3 hours per day and more than 50% of users are 19-30 years of age with an additional 22% between 31-40 years. Internet Cafes are becoming ubiquitous - found even in small towns in rural areas with high-speed internet access growing exponentially in urban centers. |
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It is estimated that 250 million Indians use English as a first or second language. 13% of high schools overall, use English as the language of basic instruction, with higher percentages in the more elite prestigious schools, making English the necessary prestige language of business, commerce and professional circles. |
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India ranks among the top four countries in the number of English speakers. In addition, upwardly mobile educated middle class India is the same size in population - between 250 million and 300 million - as the entire population of the United States, and is growing. |
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This combination of increasing Internet availability (there are now at least 18 major ISPs) and usage, coupled with widespread English use among the middle and upper classes, make India a fertile, expanding market for the use of the Internet for sexuality education, as well as it burgeoning use for entertainment and pleasure. |
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This meeting, drawing upon the expertise of scholars from India, Asia and the West, will significantly help the subcontinent and its neighbors make real progress in fighting sexual ignorance and disease, while exploring new, Internet-based methods of sexuality education and information that may ultimately prove invaluable as techniques to jump-start these efforts throughout the developing world. |
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It is our intention that as part of the initiation of web-based sexuality educational efforts deriving from this meeting, transcripts and video of the presentations and discussions could be made freely available online to members of the Indian Internet community and others throughout the world. |
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