News Release: World Wide Web Consortium Launches Office In Brazil

Today, the World Wide Web Consortium is proud to announce the launch of 
the W3C Brazil Office as its first W3C Office in South America. W3C now 
looks forward to increasing interaction with the Portuguese-speaking 
community, and to contributing to the current IT landscape in Brazil 
which aligns with exciting current trends at W3C, such as mobile Web, 
Web applications, and video on the Web.

For more information, please contact Janet Daly, W3C Global
Communications Officer , +1 617 253 5884 <janet@w3.org> or the W3C
Communications Team representative in your region.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

World Wide Web Consortium Launches Office In Brazil

First W3C Office In South America To Guide Web Innovations Along Rapidly 
Growing Economy

Web Resources
-------------
This press release:
   in English: http://www.w3.org/2007/10/braziloffice-pr.html.en
   in French: http://www.w3.org/2007/10/braziloffice-pr.html.fr
   in Japanese: http://www.w3.org/2007/10/braziloffice-pr.html.ja

W3C Brazil Office home page:
   http://www.w3c.br/

W3C Offices:
   http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Offices/

http://www.w3.org/ -- 30 October 2007 -- The World Wide Web Consortium 
(W3C) is proud to announce the launch of its first W3C Office in South 
America: the W3C Brazil Office, hosted by the NIC.br (Brazilian Network 
Information Center) institute, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. W3C looks forward 
to increasing interaction with the Portuguese-speaking community through 
this Office. Moreover, the current IT landscape in Brazil aligns with 
exciting current trends at W3C, such as mobile Web, Web applications, 
and video on the Web.

Growing Economy, Solid Information and Communications Technology 
Infrastructure

Brazil ranks with Russia, India and China – countries identified by the 
acronym BRIC in a 2003 report by the Goldman Sachs Investment Bank -- as 
a rapidly growing emerging economy. According to the report, these 
economies together may well surpass most of today's richest countries by 
the year 2050. Initiatives from the private sector and efforts by 
government agencies have promoted investment in business and 
infrastructure, from domestic and international investors alike. 
Brazil’s diversity places the country in a position of distinction in 
the South American continent and strongly influences the attraction of 
foreign investment. It is the fifth largest country on the planet, 
responsible for a very promising, predominantly urban, market.

Brazil Rides The Mobile Internet Wave, Bets On IT Innovations

Approximately 40 million Brazilians have Internet access, the highest 
number of Internet users of any country in Latin America. 
Telecommunications Industry News reported in October 2007 that the 
number of wireless users in Brazil exceeds 112 million. Brazilian 
companies compete effectively in a global market, and have delivered 
world class solutions in areas of mobile banking, open-source 
technology, Web accessibility, wireless Internet access, games industry, 
e-government solutions and HD digital television. Regarding HDTV, the 
development of a specific model of digital television turns the 
Brazilian market into a gigantic laboratory for studying the application 
of that technology.

Brazil's strength in the Internet and mobile sectors will also help the 
country narrow the digital divide currently faced by a portion of its 
population.

Brazil Office Host Brings Regional Expertise to W3C

The Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), is a not-for-profit 
civil organization created to be the executive arm and implement the 
decisions and projects derived from the Brazilian Internet Steering 
Committee (CGI.br), which is in charge of the coordination and 
integration of the activities of Internet services in the country. The 
CGI.br is a multi-stakeholder organization composed of members of the 
government, the private sector, non-profits, and the academic community. 
This composition has enabled NIC.br to innovate in areas of Internet 
Governance, enabling citizens to participate in the decision-making 
process regarding implementation, administration and use of the network.

About W3C Offices

As its Members work to realize the full potential of the Web, W3C 
collaborates with regional organizations wishing to further W3C’s 
mission. The W3C Offices assist with promotion efforts in local 
languages, help broaden W3C’s geographical base, and encourage 
international participation in W3C Activities. W3C has Offices in 
Australia; the Benelux countries; Brazil; China; Finland; Germany and 
Austria; Greece; Hungary; India; Israel; Italy; Korea; Morocco; Southern 
Africa; Spain; Sweden; and the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Contact Americas, Australia --
     Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Contact Europe, Africa and Middle East --
     Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94 or +33.676.86.33.41
Contact Asia --
     Yasuyuki Hirakawa <chibao@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where 
Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to 
develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission through the 
creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to ensure long-term 
growth for the Web. Over 400 organizations are Members of the 
Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and 
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the European 
Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) 
headquartered in France, Keio University in Japan, and has additional 
Offices worldwide. For more information see http://www.w3.org/

###

Received on Tuesday, 30 October 2007 14:05:52 UTC