(AFP, Amman) – A new Jordanian website databank to gather and disseminate information on IT-literate Jordanians went on line Sunday as part of a national scheme to push Jordan well into the Information Age.
"A comprehensive database will be readily available on the site to include relevant information on Jordanians working in the field as well as university students expected to graduate in the coming year," a statement published online by the IT Jordanian Expertise Search said.
The site, www.it.jo, hopes to provide a solid database to identify Jordanians specialized in the field of information technology (IT), inside and outside the country.
It is a joint project by the government and the Economic Consultative Council, a group of senior economists from the public and private sectors handpicked by King Abdullah to steer Jordan into the new millennium.
According to a Jordanian study, 2,307 individuals earn IT-related diplomas each year in Jordan, home to five million people.
Abdullah has relentlessly campaigned for ambitious plans to build an information technology park in Jordan, as part of his bid to attract foreign investments to his cash-strapped country.
By 2004 he hopes Jordan will be in a position to earn 550 million dollars from IT-related exports.
© Agence France Presse 2000
