SilkNet, an electronic communication network for Central Asia, made its on-line debut this past July. It is currently available 24 hours per day for dial-in access and offers a message delivery time of less than one hour to the United States/ SilkNet offers nine local conferences as well as nine IGC conferences/BitNet mailing lists/ UseNet conferences. Conference topics include: public events and announcements, experiences with local officials or other members of the local community; insights on local and regional travel, "Mom's News Service," and more. SilkNet has also created two electronic mailing lists for public use: "Friends of Uzbekistan" and "Tecnical Assistance in Central Asia."

As of late August, SilkNet had 25 clients beta-testing the system. As SilkNet develops, it plans to acquire more clients (on a fee-for-services basis), increase the variety and number of conferences and offer a Russian language interface, among other things.

SilkNet is a project of PERDCA (Project on Economic Reform and Development in Central Asia), which has had a representative in Tashkent since September 1992. SilkNet was developed in part with a planning grant from the Asia Foundation and technical assis tance from the Institute for Global Communications. Further info: contact Lorel Donaghey, PERDCA Director, at [email protected]

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