Software that produces a cut-down version of the web, stripping out all the fancy graphics is being developed by Aidworld, a not-for-profit organisation based at Cambridge University. The aim is to produce a web that can be used over slow internet connections in developing countries. Tom Corsellis, Aidworld's founder explains, "we're developing lightweight software to take the world wide web world wide."

Although it might seem like the web is all-pervasive, the reality is 90 per cent of the world's population are not yet online. Aidworld has developed software that sends only the core text from a website and claims to be around 35 times faster than viewing pages through a conventional web browser. Check out the speed for yourself using the demo on the Aidworld website. The demo simulates a connection speed of just 9600 baud, apparently this is a realistic indication of the speed of Internet lines in the developing world.

Initially the software will be made available to aid workers connecting to the Internet over satellite phones or dodgy landlines. Carolyn McAskie, the UN's Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator is enthusiastic about the technology, "we need simple, user friendly technologies that allow us to begin operating the moment we hit the ground."

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