A voluntary tax plan has been launched in Geneva that will, once implemented, provide poor nations with hi-tech tools. Wealthy nations are to be the main contributors. Senegalese President Abdoulaye was the first to promote the program. Geneva is the first city to sign up.

A fund will be set up to collect about 1% of the profit companies make on public technology projects. Called the Digital Solidarity Fund, the digital tax has the backing of France, Nigeria, Algeria and Senegal.

Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, who was on hand to see the tax's launch, said, "The Digital Solidarity Fund should be seen as a concrete manifestation of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. It can help harness the potential of ICTs to empower poor and marginalized people."

The disequilibrium between poor and rich nations can perhaps best be seen in the distribution of technology. Many African nations lack basic computer infrastructure, a prerequisite to technological implementation long integrated into the social fabric of Western nations.

The fund would also provide mobile and satellite phones to aid e-learning and e-health projects. Critics contend that the money would better serve the intended recipients if spent on food, medicine, and shelter.