Web Users in a Hurry

Council Flat at Hub of Internet Revolution BY TANIA BRANIGAN A TINY council flat on Hulme's Bentley estate is the unlikely base to an Internet project attracting interest all over the world. In just 18 months the Redbricks scheme has provided over 70 households with unlimited Internet access for just £3 a week. And the initiative, set up and run by volunteers, has attracted interest from as far afield as New Zealand and India. It has been so successful councils In Lewisham, Birmingham and Nottingham want the workers to help them repeat the scheme. The Irish government has also asked for advice. Redbricks brings Internet access to people who might otherwise be left behind by the information revolution. And its website allows them to pass on news about what's happening In the community. Recent visitors are now spreading the word back home in the Czech Republic and Spain.

Manchester homes part of super-net trial BY CHRIS BARRY DOZENS of households in Manchester are taking part in the trial of a super-fast Internet service. The internet company Freeserve has chosen Manchester and London to pilot a new high speed connection through BT's new Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, ADSL. Participants in the trial will have a permanent link to the worldwide web, enabling them to send and receive data 10 to 20 times faster than through traditional modem and telephone lines. Freeserve advertised the scheme through its web-site and is not now accepting any new trialists. For a fixed monthly fee of £49.99, users will have constant connection and simultaneous fax or voice usage, with no dial-up delays or extra call charges. ADSL also allows users to enjoy better video and audio functions, and Freeserve is working with over 20 content providers to offer new services. These include: national and international news, sport and business reports from lTN; music and entertainment from Virgin Records; and games and software from Jakarta, the games retailer. Although the trial is open to a fraction of Freeserve's 1.675m users, the company says it plans to roll-out the service. as BT makes more lines available. Between 50 and 100 household in theManchester area will use the service. The areas covered include the city centre, Altringham, Stockport, Oldham, Bury and Rochdale. Tony Blair today confessed that he is struggling to master the internet. The Prime Minister said his wife and children are well ahead of him in navigating their way around cyberspace. Mr Blair, launching GMTV's new website www.gmtv.co.uk said: "I have found it really difficult. My wife, Cherie, is absolutely brilliant at it and my kids, of course, can do anything on it. "I did a course in my constituency up in the North East and that's better now."