Communities around the world are taking advantage of the Internet to improve people's lives. Strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is helping create social and economic change in health, education, culture, and to increase civic engagement. But the benefits are not evenly distributed. "Digital divides" persist in urban and rural communities, among Africans Nations and others. As more communities gain access to broadband, the challenge is turning this IT capacity into community capital in the form of better educated citizens, more prosperous businesses, higher quality healthcare and better access to services.