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Public Internet Cafes
Almost all modern countries have public libraries and many have made efforts to bridge the digital divide by bringing computers and broadband to the masses. Most libraries operate on the basis of free access, where you need to reserve time to the computers, to surf the net, do work on Microsoft Word, or send email, for example. However, there are an increasing number of libraries that are starting to offer internet cafe type of services, with full faxing, scanning, and printing capabilities, as well as food/drinks to the visitors. The emergence of libraries as a method of accessing the internet has also been one of the reasons why internet cafes have declined in numbers in industrialized countries, in addition to people being able to connect to the net from their homes. However, in countries that do not have extensive, well-funded library systems, the internet cafe alternative is still very viable. Also, internet cafes in modern societies are targeting mostly people who are not aware that they could use the public libraries, such as tourists and traveling business people. Also, some internet cafes have gone the internet gaming route, which is more about playing online computer games in a socially encouraging environment, than it is about accessing the internet which people can do from homes.
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