Wikipedia will send SMS Bashny.Net

Global online encyclopedia Wikipedia (Wikipedia) took care of the problem of access to the millions of people who live in countries where phones and Internet are still a rarity.

Began developing software that allows cell phone users to send requests by message or USSD and to receive as a response the text of the desired article from Wikipedia. In addition, for the operation of the system will not need the Internet.

To create such a service by the American company The Knight Foundation dedicated to the support of media and journalism, offers a grant of 600 thousand dollars. Another sponsor of the project is the Foundation of the South African Praekelt Foundation.

 




The service will be available in this mode after a couple of months. SMS sending will be available in Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

In developed countries, almost every citizen can get access to the Internet from a PC, phone or tablet. In developing countries the situation is very different: most cell phones can't get online. Moreover, the tariffs for mobile Internet for many prohibitive.

 




Among the 25 States leaders in mobile access to Wikipedia, there are 22 developing countries. The first eight rows are African States.

A few years ago, this organization together with the US government funded a project for creating applications for mobile phones that will allow Americans who do not use the Internet to access necessary information at the local level.



Source: /users/413