[Thanks to Jeffrey St. Clair of counterpunch.org fame for sending this along. --Declan] http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=3235 World Bank Accused of Fraud in Internet Scheme By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Jul 18 (IPS) - The World Bank has misused funds and is seeking to mislead public opinion through its 'Development Gateway' Internet initiative, according to charges submitted Wednesday to the lending agency's fraud unit. The complaint alleges "misuse of Bank funds and positions, gross waste of Bank funds, cost mischarging or defective pricing and perhaps even fraud and misleading of public opinion." [...] At issue is a Bank effort to build the Internet's premier portal on poverty and sustainable development. The Development Gateway has been in the making for nearly two years, at a reported cost of some seven million dollars. Officials say the site will grow to encompass more than 130 topics and serve as the leading entry point on the World Wide Web for people interested in development issues. [...] By contrast, they say, the Development Gateway's business plan projects more than one hundred million dollars in spending over the next five years, in hopes of attracting only five times the Uruguayan site's number of visits. [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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