Information technology (IT) and the Internet are major drivers of research, innovation, growth, and social change.The 2010 edition of the OECD Information Technology Outlook analyzes the economic crisis and recovery and suggests that the outlook for IT goods and services industries is quite good. After weathering a very turbulent economic period it is, in fact, better than it was during the crisis at the beginning of the decade.

This book analyzes recent trends in OECD country information and communication technology policies (ICTs) to see if they are rising to the new challenges posed by the recovery. Priorities are now getting the economy moving, focusing on skills and employment, broadband diffusion, and R&D and venture finance. There is also a major new emphasis on using ICTs to tackle environmental problems and climate change.