The Department of Science and Technology and the CSIR are to set up 10 more Digital Doorways this year.
The project, established in 2002, has seen 24 Digital Doorways established in rural areas and townships around the country so far.
The project gives underprivileged people and those living in remote areas access to computers. It is modelled on India`s Hole in the Wall project, which also takes Internet-enabled PCs to underprivileged areas and leaves them freely available for local communities to use.
Derek Hanekom, deputy minister of science and technology, said in his budget vote address last week that 10 more of these Digital Doorways would be constructed this year, with R5 million allocated to the project.
Hanekom described the Digital Doorways as "computers mounted in a structure resembling the old telephone booths, and giving the public 24-hour free access".
He noted: "The computers are used virtually 18 hours a day, typically by groups of three or four young people crowded into the booth, having fun and learning from each other. The learning is all computer-based peer learning with no teacher or instructor present."
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