h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

With modern communications technology arriving in even some of the remotest African communities for the first time, the future for Africa is surely brighter than for some time.

The arrival of internet access via the UN clockwork laptop could even show the way for a new kind of economic system, suited to Africa's hostile geography and climate. One use might be to allow farmers to bipass the normal outlets for their harvests and sell (or exchange) directly on the international markets.

It would also seem reasonable to expect that when different regions of the same post-colonial African state are in regular trade and dialogue, that the traditional version of tribalism will change, and that hostility between tribes will become more difficult.

The traditional power structures may also be subverted by the increased role of women. And with access to free online education of the highest quality, such as the M.I.T. project, the goal of a dynamic Africa, unburdened by debt, geography or history must be a big step nearer.

In short, the implications for Africa are enormous, as the Newsnight report on the effects of mobile telephones will show. But with the first UN laptops arriving in communities from July, the western world can expect to be dealing with a very different Africa in the future.