Kyrgyz discover the internet

The internet is increasingly gaining popularity in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz news agency Kabar reported on Friday. Despite a limited number of computers, 100,000 people go onto the internet at least once a year in this landlocked country of four million, the report said. Women constitute 26 percent of the users. A significant number of businessmen also use the internet. In the capital, Bishkek, there is a core of 49,000 users, or one in 10 of the city's population, who visit internet sites for at least three hours a week. By contrast, in neighbouring Kazakhstan, which has a far stronger economy and a much bigger population, there is a core of only 30,000 users spread out all over the country, the report said. However, although the internet has been available in Kyrgyzstan for about seven years, 10 percent of the population has no idea what it is, the report added.