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It wields enormous influence, acts as a catalyst for social change and empowers its users to become both consumers and creators of information on a global scale.听听 This March, the 大象传媒鈥檚 international news services - 大象传媒 World Service, 大象传媒 World News and 大象传媒.com - are exploring the ways in which the internet is transforming the world in a special season of programming, SuperPower 鈥� .

SuperPower finds out how the internet has impacted on the lives of ordinary people across the globe.听 It examines its influence on all facets of life, from cultural attitudes to authority, politics, freedom, democracy, dating and disability.

From Tuesday 2 March, a SuperPower online interactive portal provides a central gateway where audiences can access the SuperPower content from all of the 大象传媒鈥檚 international news services.听 The portal will be updated regularly and will feature programme highlights of the day.听 .

In addition audiences can take part in SuperPower around the world via Facebook 鈥� 大象传媒 SuperPower and Twitter -@大象传媒_SuperPower.

The season press pack:

All timings are in GMT. For schedules for other regions please go to or

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Global Connectivity

The Virtual Revolution - 20 years on from the invention of the world wide web, this new series takes stock of its profound impact 鈥� how, for better and for worse, the digital revolution is reshaping all our lives.听 Journalist and academic Dr Aleks Krotoski explores the meaning of a phenomenon that is transforming everything from how we learn to how we shop, vote and make friends. A quarter of the planet is connected so far, and this series grapples with what the remaining 75% of the world鈥檚 population now joining the online community has in store.

The Virtual Revolution is broadcast on 大象传媒 World Service weekly from Monday 22 February at 20:00, 大象传媒 World News weekly from Saturday 6 March at 01:10 and 15:10, and 大象传媒 Persian TV from Sunday 14 March at 16:40.听 An abridged dubbed version of the documentary is also broadcast on .听 The series first broadcast in the UK on 大象传媒 TWO.

Click, 大象传媒 World News鈥� flagship technology programme, interviews the producer of Virtual Revolution to get a behind the scenes account of whether the web听has really influenced the way humans think.

On/Off- In some parts of the world, getting connected to the internet is a major challenge, whilst in others the idea of being taken offline means a new way of living.

In On/Off, Komla Dumor reports from the village of Gitata in northern Nigeria where, as part of a 大象传媒 Hausa initiative, the 大象传媒 has taken two internet-enabled mobile phones to see how the device can change the lives of the villagers.听 In Seoul, South Korea, one of the world鈥檚 most connected cities, John Sudworth follows what happens when two families agree to unplug their modems and live without the web for a week. On/Off is broadcast on 大象传媒 World News from Saturday 20 March at 04:30 and 10:30, and on The World Today on 大象传媒 World Service.

Blogworld is a daily bulletin that breaks down language barriers to offer anyone 鈥� from the most active of bloggers, to those who have never knowingly looked at a blog 鈥� the opportunity to sample and interact with the array of content in the global blogosphere. It will examine some of the subjects that are engaging communities online, and talk to bloggers to find out why blogging matters听to them.

Blogworld is presented by Pooneh Ghoddoosi for 大象传媒 World Service radio, 大象传媒 World News and 大象传媒 Persian TV, with Samir Farah presenting the show for 大象传媒 Arabic.听 From Monday 8 March to Friday 12 March 2010 and online via .

SuperPower Nation - The internet has connected the world and its cultures at an unprecedented rate. 听As part of the SuperPower season of programming, the 大象传媒鈥檚 international news services are coming together to find out what the world is talking about.听听 SuperPower Nation is an experimental global conversation, which takes place听both online via bbc.com/superpower, via the 大象传媒's other international news services, and in front of a live audience at Shoreditch Town Hall in London on Thursday 18 March, from 17:00 to 18:00 on 大象传媒 World Service.听 大象传媒 World News, 大象传媒 Persian TV, 大象传媒 Arabic television will also broadcast live from the event.

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Money

How to Make Your First Billion is a fictionalised insight into Silicon Valley, the home of the global communications revolution.听 This multimedia drama follows two characters as they attempt to go into business together, with a vision for an internet business which they believe will change the world.听Shot in a documentary style on location in Silicon Valley, the story will echo many of the real-life stories of entrepreneurs who started out from nothing, to create iconic brands.

Real-life entrepreneurs will also feature in the drama, offering advice to the two characters as they try to launch their business.听 These include Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, Susan Wojcicki, Google鈥檚 16th employee 鈥� and current Vice President Product Management, and Michael Arrington, editor of TechCrunch.

Written by Matthew Solon, an award-winning writer whose work has featured on 大象传媒 World Service and 大象传媒 Radio 4, the play is directed by John Dryden, whose previous credits include the 10-part serialisation of Vikas Swarup鈥檚 Q & A (Slumdog Millionaire) for 大象传媒 Radio 4, which won the 2008 Sony Award for Best Drama.

How to Make Your First Billion consists of 10 9-minute radio dramas and five 5-minute films, alongside a series of daily online diary features.听 Premiering on 大象传媒 World Service from Monday 8 March to Friday 19 March, at 08:50 and 11:50.听

Digital Giants 鈥� In a series of interviews, 10 thought leaders from the world of technology share their views on the internet, new technology and the global impact of the web. They will also reflect on how the internet has impacted on their own lives.听听 The line-up includes Eric Schmidt, CEO Google; Steve Ballmer, CEO Microsoft; Martha Lane-Fox, co-founder of lastminute.com; Sam Pitroda, advisor to Indian Government on 鈥淧ublic Information & Innovations鈥�; Joe Rospars, New Media Director of Barack Obama鈥檚 presidential campaign; Ge Wang, Professor at Stanford University; Jimmy Wales, co-founder Wikipedia; Daniel Ek, co-founder Spotify; and Victor Koo of Chinese video-sharing sites Youku and Tudou.听听 Digital Giants is broadcast on 大象传媒 World News, 大象传媒 World Service and from Monday 8 March.

Business Daily - 大象传媒 World Service鈥檚 technology correspondent Mark Gregory is examining how the web makes money by looking at its economic impact of the web in different corners of the globe.听 In Brasil, web businesses are thriving, even though most people still don鈥檛 have access to computers at home.听 In addition to talking to internet entrepreneurs in Sao Paulo and Rio, Mark is and finding out what the internet is doing for more marginalised members of the community.听 He visits a digital social inclusion project which is helping slum dwellers in Brazil鈥檚 shanty towns 鈥榝avelas鈥�, prisoners in the country鈥檚 notorious jails and indigenous communities gain access to the web.

The market for iPhone applications is booming, underpinned by the massive popularity of app games and novelty downloads such as 鈥楶ocket God鈥� and 鈥榠Fart鈥�.听 Mark is talking to developers and experts who see this as the start of a revolution in mobile computing and not just a passing fad.听 He also talks to others who are deeply sceptical.听

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Science

Digital Planet - 大象传媒 Technology Correspondent,听Rory Cellan-Jones, looks at the science behind new developments across听the world wide web, and explores some of the latest developments in communications听technology.听 The programme looks at the reality behind web 3.0 and asks how such an all-pervasive network, if it does emerge, will be made safe and secure against attacks and corruption.听 Who will ultimately control the web 鈥� big business or the community? And how will these technological advances听impact on听the developing world? Digital Planet on 大象传媒 World Service on Wednesday 10 March, at 20:00. 听

Digital Planet will also be hosting a special event at this year鈥檚 SXSW interactive festival in Austin, Texas.听 Presenters Gareth Mitchell and Bill Thompson will host an interactive radio quiz show recorded live in front of a SXSW audience. 听Two opposing teams, composed of top-name speakers at the festival (including June Cohen, Director, TED Media, and Jay Adelson, CEO of Digg) must answer questions on current and future tech trends.听 From the radical to the ridiculous, the live audience will then vote to decide which team has given the most entertaining or enlightening answer. The programme will use an innovative mobile-phone application that allows the audience to vote and comment on the quiz as it happens.听 Digital Planet on 大象传媒 World Service on Tuesday 16 March, at 20:30.

Power and Politics

Digital Democracy 鈥� How听is听the power of the internet changing听government, politics and听the media?听The web听is changing the world we live in, but often that change can be both positive and negative.听 In a series of five reports for 大象传媒 World Service, Chris Vallance听looks at some of the moral questions raised by this increasing democratization of power, from media freedom听to the rights and wrongs of online political activism. Is hacking a website a legitimate political expression or an act of vandalism? Is听publishing government secrets a responsibility of a free press or is it an act of irresponsible journalism? How are governments, businesses and political groups using, monitoring and leveraging digital democracy? Looking at these and other questions this series of reports will assess both the good and the bad sides of the power of the听internet.

The World Debate - Abu Dhabi Media Summit.听 This debate will question if the digital age has posed an opportunity or threat to journalism and whether the media revolution has made for a better-informed world.听 Will traditional methods of gathering and delivering news inevitably be superseded by bloggers, citizen journalists and user-generated content?听 The World Debate on 大象传媒 World News on Saturday 13 March, at 09:10 and 22:10, and Sunday 14 March, at 02:10 and 15:10.

Afghanistan Online 鈥� Nine years after the Taliban banned the internet in Afghanistan, it is now transforming Afghan lives. Despite erratic electricity and grinding poverty in the capital, Kabul is one of the few cities in the world to be covered by a huge Wi-Fi network. Imams, government officials, students, businesses and even the Taliban are making use of the internet.听 大象传媒 Persian TV鈥檚 Najieh Ghulami travels to her native Afghanistan - from Kabul to Herat and Bamyan - to discover how big an impact the web is having on Afghan society.听 Afghanistan Online on 大象传媒 World News on Saturday 13 March at 03:30 and 18:30, on 大象传媒 Persian TV on Monday 15 March at 16:45 and on 大象传媒 World Service on Wednesday 17 March at 20:00.

Afghan Bloggers - The internet in Afghanistan is expensive, erratic and still frowned upon by many of the country's clerics. But increasingly, Afghans are听taking to the net to try听to project to the world a听broader image of the country than that portrayed by the international media. The 大象传媒's Najieh Ghulami meets the Afghans who live on the world wide web and discovers how big an impact it鈥檚 having.Afghan Bloggers on 大象传媒 World Service on Wednesday 17 March, at 20:00.

The Other Internet 鈥� beyond China鈥檚 Great Firewall - 听In China, internet users are unable to use the internet in ways that many around the world take for granted.听 Many sites are beyond bounds, the use of certain words triggers alarm bells, and it is a world dominated by听names such as the search engine, Baidu and听the shopping听website, Alibaba. Presented by听Weiliang Nie of听the 大象传媒 Chinese service,听this documentary听meets Chinese internet users and finds out more about the country鈥檚 internet censorship, often termed The Great听Firewall. China's economic miracle听has in many ways听been driven by the country's technological revolution, but the web also presents the country鈥檚 authorities with problems and issues about control and access. Hillary Clinton recently spoke about the importance of internet freedom, and against blocking, but听as this documentary reveals, users in China are browsing a different kind of internet.听 The Other Internet 鈥� beyond China鈥檚 Great Firewall on Friday 19 March, at 20:00 on 大象传媒 World Service.

Jogajog Bangladesh (Connectivity Bangladesh) on 大象传媒 Bangla - As the government of Bangladesh has announced its ambition to digitalise the country by 2021, in time for the nation鈥檚 50th anniversary, 大象传媒 Bangla investigates the project鈥檚 chances for success in a special series of programmes.听In Jogajog Bangladesh, 大象传媒 Bangla provides audiences with an insight in all things digital in Bangladesh 鈥� and the country鈥檚 digital future.听听 What exactly it is that the government is expecting to achieve by 2021 鈥� and what do听ordinary people in urban and rural areas think about the colossal task?听 大象传媒 Bangla investigates what e-governance means for Bangladesh鈥檚 bureaucracy and hears from the 鈥榙igital foot-doctors of Bangladesh鈥�, the InfoLadies who lead the laptop revolution in the countryside.听 Jogajog Bangladesh from Wednesday 10 to Friday 19 March, on 大象传媒 Bangla - .

大象传媒 Brasil producer, Pablo Uchoa, travels to an Indian reserve in the Amazon region, where the Surui tribe uses the internet - Google Earth - to assess and try to control deforestation in the region.听 As part of the SuperPower season, the 大象传媒 also investigates the state of the internet in Brazil, comparing the lives of those who have access - still less than half of the population 鈥� with those who don't.听 Another highlight is also a look at how the internet is shaping the Brazilian presidential campaign ahead of the elections in October.听 From Monday 8 March on .

大象传媒 Russian journalists听travelled to Russia to investigate听claims that the country is an increasingly important centre for听hackers around the world, and find out whether Russia is doing enough to combat this growing phenomenon. The multimedia content, which includes exclusive interviews with hackers and Russian cyber-police, features across the 大象传媒 Russianoutput on radio and online on .听 It also features in a documentary on 大象传媒 World Service: Assignment: Hackers for Hire on Wednesday 10 March, at 20:00.

Uzbekistan versus Uzwebistan on the 大象传媒 Uzbek website explores the relationship between officialdom and online audiences in one of the world鈥檚 most authoritarian countries.听 While the authorities impose severe restrictions on the media and the internet, they are also well aware of the power of new media.听 The 大象传媒 analyses how the internet has changed politics in Uzbekistan - for government, the opposition and religious groups. Uzbekistan, as seen through the eyes of the officialdom, and 鈥楿zwebistan鈥�, as portrayed by internet-users inside and outside the country, are two very different worlds.听 The content on features an interactive map of global 鈥楿zwebistan鈥�, showing the most popular Uzbekistan-related sites operating from outside the country, as well as听identifying influential bloggers posting their views from Moscow, Washington, Almaty and elsewhere.听 While two pictures galleries - one from 'official鈥� Uzbekistan, one from 鈥楿zwebistan鈥� - give audiences two views of life in the country, 大象传媒 journalists also ask how Uzbeks use media and web in Uzbekistan and 鈥楿zwebistan鈥�,听and explore the impact of online social networking.听

Assignment 鈥� Internet Footprint - Mike Williams explores how secure (or, indeed, vulnerable) we have become in the digital world.听 He asks a professional investigator to use the internet to discover how much of his online life can be traced by computer experts.听 Mike also hears from people who have decided that digital anonymity is better than the rush for social networking.听听Assignment 鈥� Internet Footprint on 大象传媒 World Service from Thursday 18 March, at 20:00.

Real Lives

My World - Audiences have been invited to shoot two-minute mini-documentaries with the theme of My World, using any kind of camera available. A panel of well respected documentary professionals will select the best films from each continent as well as deciding on the ultimate winner.听The films will each be shown on 大象传媒 World News on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 March, while The Strand on 大象传媒 World Service is carrying interviews听about the project until March. Films can be viewed via .

大象传媒 Chinese - A live webcast on the 大象传媒 Chinese educational website features a panel discussion, chaired by Tianshu Carter, on how the internet changes students鈥� lives.听听 Three Chinese students studying in the UK, and a British student who speaks fluent Mandarin, will talk about their experiences of using the internet.听 Can they imagine their world without the internet?听 Do they view the world differently because of the internet?听 The Chinese youngsters will talk about the role of the internet in their lives 鈥� including 鈥榖ringing鈥� them to the UK, helping them to adjust to life abroad and stay connected with friends.听 Audiences will be invited to phone in during the event to ask questions and exchange views with the panellists. On on Monday 8 March.听

Netrimony - Dating websites are springing up all over the world and are gaining popularity. 听Rajini Vaidyanathan goes behind the scenes at India's leading matrimonial websites to find out how they work and the effect they are having.听 Is the traditional role played by Auntie-Ji in decline, or is it just the urban elite who go online to find their spouse?听 Netrimony on 大象传媒 World Service on Wednesday 10 March, at 20:00, on 大象传媒 Hindi from Monday 8 March, and on 大象传媒 World News.

大象传媒 World Service鈥檚 Outlook on Wednesday 10 March, at 09:00 is turning its attention to the role of the internet as matchmaker, with a focus on stories from around the world about love found online.

大象传媒 Russian examines the subject of disability and the internet, following the progress of several disabled people in Samara, who have been provided with computers and internet connection, and trained by phone by another disabled man on how to use various internet technologies. They were asked to blog about their experience discovering the net for , their paralysed trainer's blog documents his side of the story. A special picture gallery tells the story from another continent - from a residential home for disabled kids in Thailand where three young people who are still resident there are helped by the 大象传媒 to explore ways of socialising and working using the web.

Health Check on 大象传媒 World Service, in collaboration with 大象传媒 Russian, will听feature the blogging community听in Samara and also look at different approaches to working with disabled children in Thailand and India,听to find out how technology is impacting on their lives.听 The programme also talks to听Sam Blackburn, who was responsible for developing听Professor Stephen Hawking's apparatus - including the supercomputer and speech synthesizer - that helped him bring his groundbreaking ideas to the world.

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Notes to Editors
All information in this press pack is up to date as of 1 March 2010. For schedules for other regions please go to or

For further information please contact Penny Crook, on 0207听557 1142, or penny.crook@bbc.co.uk
大象传媒 World Service is an international multimedia broadcaster delivering 32 language and regional services, including: Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese, English, English for Africa, English for the Caribbean, French for Africa, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mandarin, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese for Africa, Portuguese for Brazil, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Somali, Spanish for Latin America, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, and Vietnamese. It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 188 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels.听Its news sites, which received 4.7 million weekly visitors in September 2009, include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. It has around 2,000 partner radio stations which take 大象传媒 content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices.听For more information, visit .听For a weekly alert about 大象传媒 World Service programmes, sign up for the 大象传媒 World Agenda e-guide at .听

大象传媒 World News, the 大象传媒's commercially funded international 24-hour news and information听channel, is owned and operated by 大象传媒 World News Ltd, a member of the 大象传媒鈥檚 commercial group of companies.听 大象传媒 World News听attracts 74 million viewers a week, is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, and reaches 295听million households and 1.7 million hotel rooms.听听The channel's content is听also available听on 81 cruise ships, 46 airlines, 35听mobile phone networks and a number of major online platforms including .听 For further information on how to receive 大象传媒 World News, download schedules or find out more about the channel, visit .

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