The recent explosion of Internet Cafes in Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine, bodes well for the Internet and the Computer industry in this country of 52 million people where less than 1% own computers or are hooked into the internet.

This article is not about the Cafes' themselves as one only has to visit one or two of them to learn what they are about. But rather this article is about what this trend means to the computer and internet industry as a whole.

The first step in any transaction is: "try it out". Once people, particularly young people, try out the internet, and learn that it can be an invaluable tool for gathering information, learning about what goes on in the world, entertainment, education, and general access to all the world's files, then they will want this for themselves. Ukrainians, like people of any other nation, are adaptive and they will find a way to obtain that first computer and they will find then find a way to connect to the internet. There is no doubt in my mind that this will happen and will happen sooner than we think.

Another aspect about Ukraine that encourages me to believe in the spontaneous growth of the industry is that Ukrainian parents a loath to deny their children anything. If they can afford it, they will get it for them. Sure, computers are not a $5 toy, but Ukrainian parents are also adaptable and they will find ways to afford that first computer for their offspring.

Internet Cafes provide the "springboard" to the development of the industry in general. In the West, the opposite was true. Internet Cafes developed after the industry was in full swing. They provided a forum for people to meet and socialize. A forum to exchange ideas and phone numbers. In the poorer countries of the world, the Internet Cafe is a serious place. A place where one can use the tool to get out into the world. Many Internet Cafes' don't even serve coffee or have the basic amenities for socializing. This is serious business.

Flourish they will, and the more there are, the more there will need to be, until Ukrainians start buying computers and using the Cafe's only when they travel or (as in the West) for socializing. Their future is secure.

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