PM aims for universal Internet access

In his speech to a conference on the "knowledge economy" of the future, Tony Blair made plain his fears on the emergence of a "digital divide".

"The knowledge economy must be an economy for the many and not the few," he told a joint CBI, TUC and government conference in London. Mr Blair went on to promise "a National Grid for Learning", connecting schools and libraries to the Internet by 2002, as well as a thousand information technology learning centres nationwide.

At the conference, Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett announced plans for an online service linking job vacancies, skills programmes and careers advice. Mr Blunkett said that jobseekers would be able to look for work by surfing the Internet either at home or in shopping centres through the Learning and Work Bank.

Finally, the government realise that many unemployed people prefer to while away their days imbibing in the land's fine hostelries, so when are we going to find PCs in pubs? And how many "jobseekers" can afford their own computer?