A county Limerick village is seeking to harness the Internet to revitalise its community. Athea, with a population of about 450 people, is to receive EU funding to establish a community-owned electronic village shop and culture centre by the end of this year.
The electronic commerce shop, to be called All-IrelandVillage.com, is a not-for-profit public trading company. It received charitable status approval this week. It will use the Internet to source and market traditional branded Irish products and services from the local area. The virtual cultural centre will produce and broadcast video takes of Ireland's folklore through dance, music, storytelling, and poetry. EU funding to the value of about £65,000 has already been earmarked for the project.
The idea for the virtual village came about when Englishman, Mr Bill Bemister visited the region to explore the EU funding opportunities for relocating an Internet business in Ireland.
Mr Bemister says: "While we want a basic structure in place by the end of this year, the long-term product will look like an interactive television programme, updated daily with news and entertainment."
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