Ministers from thirty nine countries and the European Community have apparently agreed in principle to 'promote the Internet economy and stimulate sustainable economic growth' at the recently concluded OECD Ministerial Meeting in Seoul. The declaration as well as the annexes contain guidelines which if implemented, will impact the geospatial community too. The 'Guidelines for Access to Research Data from Public Funding' and the 'Recommendations for Enhanced Access and More Effective Use of Public Sector Information' if read in the right spirit (and implemented) should satisfy the 'Free Our Data' campaign launched in the UK as well as the 'unshackle the maps...' mission started by GIS Development in India in 1999... Cheers to USGS for its 'free LandSat Data' program. Any inputs about the present status of such efforts in the remaining thirty six countries and the European Community are welcome.

We have changed the look and feel of the e-weekly and request your comments and suggestions for further improvements.