Hoping to extend Internet connectivity to underserved populations around the world, the United Nations and the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) today announced a series of programmes to accelerate the adoption of broadband wireless technology in developing countries. The "Wireless Internet for Underserved Populations and LocalCommunities" initiative was developed in follow-up to a June 2003 conference on wireless Internet opportunities for developing nations. It is also in support of tire MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) --a set of measurable and time-bound targets adopted by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000--the fast-ever global forum on information technologies (ICTs).W2i has received requests from business organizations and governmental regulatory agencies in several countries to facilitate consensus among local stakeholders in emerging broadband wireless Internet standards.Early underwriters of the initiative include IBM and Intel. "Intel is a strong proponent of enabling affordable Internet connectivity worldwide, and we are developing wireless technologies and working with organizations like W2i to help accelerate the adoption of broadband wireless technologies worldwide," said JulieCoppernoll, director of marketing lot Intel’ s Wireless Networking Group.