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Preface
This book was based on a study completed in May of 2004. In the Internet age, the intervening years up to this publication might seem like an eternity. This is one of the perils of researching the World Wide Web; the lag time between research and publication almost automatically ensures some degree of obsolescence. Indeed, in the years since this study was completed, technology has continued at an unabated pace, bringing increased sophistication to the World Wide Web. Perhaps the most significant changes are in how and where people access the Web. The rise of Wi-Fi networks and multifunctional handheld devices ensures that the voices of heads of state of developing countries can rise above the limits of desktop computers and pour into the streets of developed and underdeveloped nations around the world.
The heads of state themselves have also changed. Of the original study population of 31 countries classified as developing countries with presidential (or similar) Web sites in English, seven have new leaders. Togo’s Gnassingbe Eyadema has been replaced by his son, Faure Gnassingbe, who maintains an official web site in English and French like his deceased father (http://www.republicoftogo.com/).