On January 17, 1996, THB Asia Connect, a Malaysian-based Internet provider, successfully facilitated the first-ever live interactive session between three heads of government: Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad met with PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Philippine president Fidel Ramos for a 10-minute online chat. Historic though it may have been, however, the online exchange was just one small step in Asia Connect's grand plan to develop Asiacentric content for the Internet.
"If you look at today's Internet, more than 90 percent of what's available is Western in focus. That's a big problem," says Joe Lam, senior vice president of Asia Connect. "We create content that people on this half of the world can relate to. The faster we develop Asiacentric content, the faster Asia will get online."
Lam's not kidding. A year ago, the Internet didn't exist in Malaysia. Now popular sites are getting a million hits a month.
What qualifies as Asiacentric content? Lillian Too's feng shui site has been big news. Feng shui is the Chinese art of geomancy a cross between psychic energy work and interior design and Lillian Too can make a Swiss ski chalet seem as spiritual as Stonehenge. In Asia she's a celebrity, and her online consultations are burning up lots of Asian bandwidth.
"Most of what they're doing isn't nearly as big as the tripartite head-of state chat or as esoteric as Lillian Too," says Asia Connect's former webmaster, Anthony Batt. "They do a lot of day-to-day small stuff, like giving away homepages and helping Malaysian radio stations and newspapers get online."
If Asia Connect has its way, it'll someday put all of the Far East online. This year alone, the company plans to expand its Hong Kong office and open new ones in Thailand and Indonesia. "It's exciting to imagine what happens when Asiacentric content starts exerting an influence," muses Batt. "That could produce a brand-new vision a true East-meets-West scenario."
Steven Kotler
SCANS
Asia for Asians
