The Technology Empowerment Network (TEN) announced today that schools in Nepal and the Australian outback, and villages in India, will be the first to benefit from its work.

Just six months after helping to set up TEN, members Wayne Bos of Tomorrow Ltd and Traver Gruen-Kennedy of Citrix Corp have committed to assisting Schools Online in expanding their Internet learning center to Australian aboriginal schools, and to students in Nepal. And Prashant Fadia of Abacus Software will help Greenstar to deploy new solar-powered community and culture centers in India.

TEN was directed by the Technology Pioneers, a project of the World Economic Forum, to identify and support initiatives that use technology to improve health, education, and economic development in underserved communities throughout the world. They chose Schools Online and Greenstar as their first directly supported projects, and today's announcements are the first concrete fruit of that commitment, developed over the past few days at the Davos Conference in Davos, Switzerland.

TEN is an outgrowth of the Forum's efforts to be a catalyst for private sector initiatives that can bridge global divides. By creating TEN the Technology Pioneers have demonstrated an impressive commitment to the world community. They have set up the network, and contributing their time and money, while their own companies are still in their early stages.

TEN offers an innovative new model for supporting social and economic progress. With the knowledge that brainpower, experience and access to the influential can be worth more than money, TEN pledges the time and counsel of its member network to help social entrepreneurs increase their global impact and serve as models for others.

In addition to the CEOs of Technology Pioneer companies TEN has attracted the support of a top-notch group of global executives including new economy gurus Esther Dyson and Don Tapscott, Kathy Bushkin, President of the AOL Time Warner Foundation, Yossi Vardi original backer of ICQ and Carlos A. Primo Braga, head of the World Bank's Information for Development (InfoDev) program.

Greenstar and Schools Online will be "adopted" by TEN and receive intense guidance and support for a full year. The support will be provided by TEN members and facilitated by TEN staff. Though different in focus, each is an example of the uses of technology to enhance the lives and economies of remote or neglected areas.

Schools Online (www.schoolsonline.org) provides Internet solutions and education resources to underserved communities worldwide. Greenstar (www.greenstar.org) works in isolated, rural villages in the developing world providing such basic services as solar power water purification and wireless communication.

Response to TEN has been broad and deep. Prior to the official launch of the program at Davos nearly 200 individuals have become members and have pledged their support.