Dear Friends: Generally I hate to 'forward' but this one from ScDev.Net is too good to miss out. Vyasamoorthy, P Dear all, By dramatically reducing the cost of disseminating information, the Internet is revolutionising science publishing. Developing countries are likely to benefit, but calls to make scientific information freely available to all are proving controversial. What do you think...... The Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) is pleased to announce the launch a special section on open access and scientific publishing. (www.scidev.net/open_access) This comprehensive guide is your essential overview to the implications of open access initiatives on access to scientific information in the developing world. It includes : Up-to-date news, features and opinion articles on the issues surrounding open access and scientific publishing Descriptions of (and links to) current open access initiatives Access to free scientific literature Links to key reports Comprehensive events section with the latest meeting proceedings and future events. An opportunity for you to comment and give your views You may also be interested in this week's editorial by our director David Dickson on 'Communicating science in the electronic era', which raises many of the key issues in the debate. We hope that this guide will be a useful and important resource for all those interested in open access to scientific information, and will provoke further critical thinking and discussion on the key issues. We would therefore encourage you to pass this message on to colleagues and friends who might be interested (www.scidev.net/open_access) Best regards, The SciDev.Net team SciDev.Net (www.scidev.net) is an organisation devoted to providing news and promoting debate on science and technology issues relevant to the needs of developing countries.