in use for years, it slowed down the expansion of French electronic
commerce on the Internet. Little by little, many of the French companies or
organizations with Minitel servers are creating websites, which are cheaper to
consult, easier to use because of hypertext links, and more pleasing to the eye
because of colors, graphics and multimedia tools.

French is not only spoken in France, Quebec, and parts of Belgium and
Switzerland, it is the official language of 49 states (particularly in Africa)
and is spoken worldwide by 500 million people. Created in 1970 with 21
French-speaking states, the Agence de la francophonie (Agency of Francophone
Countries) counts 47 members today. Its goal is to be an instrument of
multilateral cooperation to create a community representing the French-speaking
countries at the international level.

Following the decisions of the Heads of States and Governments of
French-speaking Countries during their meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, in November
1997, the Fonds francophone des inforoutes (Francophone Fund for Information
Highways) was established on June 3, 1998. Thirteen Francophone states and
governments participated: the Belgian-French Community, Benin, Cameroon, Canada,
Canada-New Brunswick, Canada-Quebec, Cote d'Ivoire, France, Gabon, Lebanon,
Monaco, Senegal, and Switzerland.

This Fund's mission had been outlined six months earlier, according to several
directives given by the Conference des ministres charges des inforoutes
(Conference of Ministers in Charge of the Information Highways) held in
Montreal, Quebec, in May 1997. It supported: democratization of the access to
information highways; development of education, training and research;
reinforcement of content creation and circulation; promotion of economic and
social development; setting up of a Francophone awareness service;
awareness-raising of young people, producers and investors; setting up of a
concerted Francophone presence within the international authorities in charge of
the development of information highways. The Fund's activities are particularly
aimed at financing multilateral projects which would strengthen partnerships
between North and South.

French is not only the language of 49 countries and 500 million inhabitants in
the world, it is also the second international language used in international
organizations. Despite the real and alleged pressure of the English-speaking
community, French-speaking people insist o