Nasscom plans to roll out the test nationwide by November. The group said that more than 90 percent of India's software services, BPO and call center companies have signed up to take part in the program.

Europe plans broader Internet access

RIGA, Latvia -- Nearly three-dozen European governments pledged last week to do more to spread Internet access to citizens who could be left behind by rapid technological advances.

Government ministers from 34 European countries agreed at a meeting here that they would use IT to help the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed overcome obstacles to Internet use. The represented nations included the European Union's 25 members, plus Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The EU is separately aiming by 2010 to halve the number of people with no Internet access, boost the reach of broadband services into rural areas and ensure that all government Web sites are accessible to the public. That effort is part of the EU's i2010 strategy, the digital economy component of a wider initiative to boost employment and business growth and spur innovation.