INFORMATION technology is at last creating the global village we were promised 50 years ago. The cost of telephone calls continues to drop as companies replace ageing networks with undersea cable.

Fibreoptic cables link the US to China (1), South America (2) and Europe (3), allowing high volumes of data to be transferred at speed. The US-China link can handle 4m calls at a time.

The Internet is giving Third World countries a shortcut to development by capitalising on their IT skills. It is also taking education and medical care beyond national boundaries: virtual teachers and doctors can provide expertise anywhere.

There are now more than 4,000 satellites in orbit. A new generation of low-orbit communication satellite constellations, following the launch of the Globalstar system in 2001, is providing mobile phone users with truly global reception for the first time. SC