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May 31, 2007 By Indrajit Basu
Mention Greece and the first thoughts that come to mind are its famous epics The Iliad and The Odyssey, as well as some of history's greatest thinkers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
Discuss Greece with travel enthusiasts and they'll vouch for the country's glorious monuments, statues, architecture and its breathtaking scenic beauty. However, a discussion with digital experts will yield an earful about e-Trikala -- an electronic community initiative in Trikala, a medium-sized city located in Thessaly, northwest of Athens.
Lately e-Trikala is creating a stir in the digital community world, not just because it's the first digital city in Greece, but because within just a few months of its first phase completion in December 2006, the initiative is bridging the digital divide in Greece -- where on average, only six out of 100 citizens have access to or use the Internet.
Primary Objective
Funded from the 2,847 million euro budget (approximately $386.62 million) of the Greek Information Society Framework Program, e-Trikala is more than a city getting wired up. Rather, city officials say the program's goal is to use various information and communications technology (ICT)-based applications to simplify administration, reduce telecommunication costs and deliver new services to improve everyday life.
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