From the original 46 applicants, Telecom Eireann has shortlisted four Irish communities for its Information Age Town competition. They are Castlebar, Kilkenny, Killarney and Ennis. The winner will be announced in the middle of September.

The chosen town will see all of its homes, schools, businesses and hospitals equipped and wired with the latest technology, making it a showcase for the communications of the future.

Every home will have a state-of-the-art telephone, with voice-mail and other services. Each business will have a high-speed ISDN connection to the Internet. Every child, from the age of five, will have access to a computer, and most households will be hooked up to the World Wide Web.

Public services, from libraries to hospitals, will make optimum use of the latest technologies. In total, Telecom Eireann will spend £15 million on the project.