The Book of Genesis tells us that when the wild animals and birds of the air were brought before man, he had a name for each of them. Remote villagers in Uganda don't always have the answers they need in their daily encounters with the natural elements. Now, though, they have Question Box, a free, nonprofit telephone hotline that provides information to people in remote areas who lack access to computers.

The premise behind Question Box is that a host of barriers keeps most of the developing world from taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge available through Web search engines, said Rose Shuman, the service's creator. That could be a drag on economic development.

"So I was thinking, why not bring the information to them in a way that's most convenient and useful to them?" said Shuman, who is based in Santa Monica, California.

People in two rural agricultural communities in Uganda can turn to 40 Question Box workers who have cell phones. The workers dial into the call center and ask questions on behalf of the locals, or they put the call on speakerphone so the locals can ask for themselves. The operators then look up the requested information in a database and convey it to the workers, who pass it along to the villagers. The workers are compensated with cell phone airtime.

The service is a joint effort of Open Mind, a nonprofit group founded by Shuman, and the Grameen Foundation, which is best known for promoting small loans for the poor. It has received financial backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In June Google introduced a similar effort in Uganda, also involving Grameen, which allows people to find information on topics like health and agriculture via text messaging.

Source: An article by Ron Nixon for the New York Times