Groups to launch mobile classroom initiative

Mexico's eastern state of Hidalgo will be the first to benefit from the mobile classroom project aimed at fighting the digital divide in the country's marginalized areas, according to local newspaper El Universal. A joint project between Microsoft México (Nasdaq: MSFT), the union of technology entrepreneurs in technology UNETE and the national board of education for work and life Conevyt, the mobile classroom is a retrofitted bus with 18 wireless laptops, video projector and satellite internet connections. The bus will travel to rural areas in Mexico to introduce and train people on the use of technology. The initiative was begun with a donation of US$163mn from Microsoft México. The mobile classroom has a capacity to train up to 42,000 people a year on new technology, according to Microsoft México CEO Felipe Sánchez. "The most important thing is its mobility. This project permits us to reach the corners of the country where technology is today just a dream for people," he was reported as saying. "This initiative will help drive adult education under the work and life education model that requires materials to be simple and useful to be applied in daily school activities," Conevyt president Ramón de la Peña said.