By Daniel Pearson

Any solution to the digital divide has to take a global perspective. One example of the problem is that there are an estimated 500 million people living in Latin America, but only 5 percent of them have Internet access.

That's why StarMedia Network -- an Internet company billing itself as the online leader for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking audiences worldwide -- has created the nonprofit StarMedia Foundation, dedicated to educating Latin American youth through information technology and leadership programs.

"The StarMedia Foundation is fully committed to addressing the digital divide in underprivileged communities in Latin America and the rest of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world," StarMedia Foundation President Gally Bar-on said.

Economic opportunities in Latin America have received a lot of press in recent months. Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp.'s chairman and chief software Architect, climbed out on a digital limb on March 21 and predicted Latin American spending on Web commerce would create annual returns of nearly $11 billion by 2003.

A study conducted by Jupiter Communications, one of the world's leading research firms, indicates Gates' prediction may come true, but the full potential of that market is far from being realized. Only 11 percent of Latin Americans have access to a computer and nearly half of the region's 500 million people are less than 19 years old.

That's where the StarMedia Foundation comes in. The group has formed an association with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) youth development and outreach program's 8,000 youth delegates and international donor agencies, to create educational opportunities throughout Latin America.

The group's first project, which is projected to wrap up in June, is to wire 117 Brazilian schools in underprivileged communities to the Internet. The foundation is training youth in basic computer programs, such as WordPerfect and Excel, and plans to later teach them how to use the Internet. Similar schools are slated to open in Columbia and Uruguay this summer.

Bar-on said the StarMedia Foundation has already received more than 200 computers from various corporations and is now talking with several airlines to see if they will donate cargo space to transport the computers.

"Basically, the sky is the limit," Bar-on said. "It's easy to get people to donate computers, but it's harder to find a carrier.