E-Commerce and Development Report 2004

Book excerpt: Information and communications technologies (ICT) have considerable potential to promote development and economic growth, by helping to foster innovation, improve productivity and expand the knowledge capacity of developing countries, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. This is the fourth report in the series, published by UNCTAD, which seeks to assess the implications of the growing role of ICTs in economic development. Issues discussed include: the growth of e-commerce and issues for international dialogue; e-business survey results in Latin America; the use of digital and internet technologies in the creative industries, particularly in the music industry; online learning in the higher education sector; government e-commerce applications in e-procurement; legal issues and challenges of data privacy in an information society; and the ICT sector in Tunisia and the development of a national e-strategy.