Technology Executives Visit Iraq

According to BBC News reports, top executives from major Internet companies including Google, YouTube, Twitter, Howcast, and Meetup visited Iraq last week in order to assess how their technologies might assist in the ongoing fight against corruption.

The companies will aim to contribute to the long-term development of a more cohesive and accountable Iraqi society.

The US State Department arranged the visit so that the executives could offer ideas on how new technology could empower the Iraqi citizens and expand the existing network.

According to State Department spokesman Robert Wood, the visit was “an opportunity to invite the American technology industry to be part of this creative genesis.”

Under Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Internet was censored and not easily available to the Iraqi public. Currently, high costs and low reliability remain obstacles for widespread usage. As of November 2008, 1 percent of Iraq’s 28 million plus population have access to the Internet, a ten-fold increase from 2002.