As hard as it may be to believe, according to a study by research firm Parks Associates, nearly 20% of the population of the United States is disconnected from the Internet and has never used email. In their annual phone survey of U.S. households, Parks Associates found 20 million households are without Internet access, approximately 18% of the U.S.

A project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council on a South London housing estate has developed ways of teaching people the skills they need to make the most of today’s information technology.