The purpose of this literature review is to provide information about several ICT initiatives undertaken in education on a global basis in order to overcome the digital divide and summarise the findings of these initiatives. Due to the limited scope of the study, the bulk of the review mainly concerns initiatives undertaken in secondary schools from 1990 onwards, though general information regarding other areas of digital development has been included where relevant.

This literature begins with a description and definition of the digital divide. The paper then provides a theoretical framework and organises the results of the literature review for sections like-

• Descriptive case studies
• National policies 
• Country comparisons and
• Empirical studies

Defining the digital divide
The term digital divide was first coined by Lloyd Morrisett, president of the Markle Foundation (Hoffman, et al., 2001). According to Hoffman et al., Morrisett vaguely conceived of a divide between the information-haves and have-nots. While Morrisett is credited with the term, the coupling of ICT and inequality is not new. This belief is also evident in Compaine's (2001) claim that: "Before there was a 'digital divide' there were the 'information haves and the have-nots." (Compaine, 2001).

The marked gap between the number of countries that are high-level ICT participants and the number that are low-level ICT participants has been referred to as the global digital divide (World Economic Forum, 2000). So, an uneven pattern or gap of ICT diffusion between industrialised countries and least developed countries exists as measured by the number of phone lines per inhabitants (teledensity), the number of Internet hosts, the number of Internet users, the number of households that own computers, and the number of cell phone users (Campbell, 2001).

The global digital divide, as well as the digital divide within countries, is also referred to as the 'technological divide' (Rice, 2001).

In a similar vein, according to an ITU (2002) report, the digital divide is not only defined in terms of lack of access to telephone services, but also in terms of lack of access to ICT.

OECD (OECD, 2001) roughly frames the digital divide as: "the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard both to their opportunities to access ICT and to their use of the Internet for wide variety of activities." So, the digital divide reflects various differences among and within countries.

According to Alcántara (2001), the digital divide is an integral part of a much broader and more intractable development divide. People in low-income countries are limited not only by their lack of access to modern means of communication and sources of information, but also by a complex network of constraints ranging from unresolved problems of poverty and injustice in their own societies (Alcántara, 2001).

Van Dijk (2003) distinguishes four kinds of barriers to access and the type of access they restrict:

1. Mental access": This type of access is restricted by a lack of elementary digital experience caused by lack of interest, computer anxiety, and unattractiveness of the new technology.

2. "Material access": This is restricted if there is no possession of computers and network connections.

3. "Skills access": A lack of digital skills caused by insufficient user-friendliness and inadequate education or social support limit skills access.

4. "Usage access": Lack of significant usage opportunities restrict usage access.

In the light of these definitions, there appears to be a converging viewpoint that the digital divide is not just about access to technology, nor necessarily of high cost, but has a socio-economic component (ITU, 2002).

Although it is beyond the scope of this study, it should be noted that the legal, political, and economic circumstances under which a country operates gives some indication of a country's e-Ready condition. Therefore, it is claimed that under the right circumstances, ICTs can greatly expand a country's economic growth, create or enhance a country's participation in global markets, dramatically improve human welfare and human capital, and promote political accountability (United Nations Development Programme, 2000).

The digital divide in educational context
Many parts of the world are undergoing a digital revolution in the area of ICTs (Commission of the European Communities, 2001). Similarly, it has been stated in a United Nations Report (2000, p. 3) that "the world is undergoing a revolution in ICTs that has momentous implications for the current and future social and economic situation of all countries of the world". This report also identifies several important benefits to countries and their populations from the wide application and use of ICTs, including the direct contribution of the ICTs tremendous potential for improving education, including distance learning and training (Rice, 2003).

The OECD (2000) has defined the digital divide for students in three ways:

• Missing Link: In remote rural or poor inner-urban areas where telecommunications are limited and/or expensive and for students who have disabilities.
• Wasteland: Groups who find the technology isolating and mechanical, for example, females and some minorities.
• Foreign language: High poverty homes lacking equipment and language skills.

Furthermore, the following four important factors to bridge the digital divide have been cited in an ITU report: (ITU, 2002):

• Awareness: The state and individuals should be fully aware of the importance of digital technologies and their applications.
• Accessibility: Infrastructure should be expanded and improved in order to provide the necessary connectivity for effective use of ICTs.
• Availability: ICT must be offered within reasonable proximity, with appropriate hardware and software.
• Affordability: Means should be found to provide low-cost services to users, low-cost equipment, and training on the effective use of ICTs for national and individual development.

In their article "New Technologies for Literacy and Adult Education: A Global Perspective", Kozma and Wagner (2003) put forward that there are ICT digital divide programmes that can widen the divide, by investing in the top end (easier to reach) parts of the spectrum of the disadvantaged population. Thus, it is suggested here that if the UN Decade, which refers to the the years 2003-2012 as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UN, 2002a) to be the United Nations Literacy Decade, is to succeed, it must also try "to reach the unreached, to reach those at the bottom end of the literacy divide, and to pay attention to how ICTs can make a special contribution" (Kozma, Wagner, 2003). They conclude that even within the poorest population sectors and countries, ICT is now too cheap to ignore since literacy and technology are becoming increasingly inter-dependent (Kozma, Wagner, 2003). Besides, private sector involvement is essential in order to take advantage of<