Over many years' businesses, enterprises and government - both local and national, have to a large extent, ignored relationships with the community when placing services on-line. In the race to be the first or to meet deadlines in providing this or that service, the implementers haven't always allowed for how the public will actually interact with their on-line efforts.

To the experienced user of the Internet it is sometime difficult to remember that Internet users are the minority group within the community. It is also easy to forget that those members who we try to help with placing services on-line may have no interest with the internet because they currently cannot access, use or understand it.

When developing a new service, by allowing additional modest budget to provide community groups within the target user base the basic requirements to use the Internet, bonds can be strengthened and communication between your entity and community groups can be become a reality through enabling involvement.

Having as many community groups on line all interacting with each other and with other organisations, is good for the overall community to redevelop relationships that have been broken by the Digital Divide.

Involve

1) Internet users are a        minority group.

2) Only 12% of the worlds        population is online.

3) i-communities are not about       technology, they have been       designed to involve       community participation as       simply as possible.

4) An i-community removes       the technology barrier       allowing all members of a       community to involve       themselves with the group       on an on-line basis.