At an Internet cafe in Ngari the most out-of-the-way prefecture in west China's Tibet Autonomous Region,Dundrub a young Tibetan man is chatting with a friend in Canada online.

"When I click the mouse, a new world opens before me, just like you say a magic word and a treasure chest opens," said Dundrub.

Since the Internet cafe was opened half a year ago, it has become a favorite hangout for Tibetan people, especially young men, said Yang Zhoin, a waitress of the cafe.

"Most of them come to read news online because newspapers can't always arrive in Ngari in time," she said. "But with the Internet they can update themselves with the world in minutes."

Covering an area of 340,000 square kilometers, Ngari is the most sparsely populated region in China with only about 70,000 people. It was regarded as "the corner forgotten by the world" before because of its location on the high and cold mountainous region 4,500 meters above sea level and poor transportation and communication infrastructure.

"In the eyes of the local people, the plain is the whole world,as most of them have never left Ngari during their whole life," said a writer who visited Ngari years ago.

But when Internet comes, the door of the world opens, as a result of tens of million US dollars of government investment that has greatly improved the communication facilities in Ngari over the last few years.

At present, there are an average of two Internet cafes in each county under the jurisdiction of Ngari Prefecture, and countless companies and families have access to the Internet.

Nowadays, the strongest love of Yang Hui, a local agronomist inRutog County, is to log onto the Internet.

"I knew nothing about the Internet until earlier this year when an Internet cafe was opened in town," said Yang. "Now I have got used to searching the Internet for the most advanced research achievements and materials in agriculture."

The Internet has not only shortened the distance between Ngari and the other parts of the world, but also changed the lifestyle of the local people.

As an experiment, Basang Cering, a newly graduated college student, bought a fashionable jacket online.

"Maybe I am the first to shop online in Ngari. When I put on it many friends of mine admired me, though the mail service took a whole month," Basang Cering said proudly. "Even the daughter of my neighbor asked me to buy her cosmetics online."

The local governments and enterprises in Ngari also attach importance to the advertising effect of the Internet. Some county governments have set up websites with beautiful pictures of their scenic spots in a bid to attract more tourists or investors.

(People's Daily   December 8, 2003)