Lane-Fox scheme to flog sub-£100 PCs
Martha Lane-Fox reveals plans to get many more online by offering cheap, refurbished PCs.
The UK's digital champion Martha Lane-Fox has revealed plans to make sub-100 PCs available to those without broadband access.
Under the plans, refurbished PCs with a flat-screen monitor, warranty and telephone support will be offered for 98.
"Motivation and inspiration are still two of the biggest barriers [to people using the internet], but clearly perception of price is another big deal for people," Lane-Fox, who was also one of the co-founders of LastMinute.com, told the Financial Times.
"We have an opportunity here in the UK to make sure we are achieving internet skills and usage as high as TV usage. We should be using our old computers and refurbishing them to close the gap in this country."
The PCs will be made available at 60 different centres across the UK once the pilot scheme is launched in the coming days.
A nationwide rollout has been planned for later in the year.
The project will form part of the Race Online 2012 campaign, which was launched in July.
Lane-Fox put her weight behind the initiative, hoping to get an additional 10 million people who have never been online connected to the web by 2015 - not 2012 as the name of the project would hint.
She has also outlined plans to get millions more online by the time the Olympics hits the UK in 2012.
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