At home, in the streets, on the bus, at work, school, play, everywhere people can be seen connected to the internet or their cellular phone doing all kinds of things. The trend is such that an estimated half of Costa Rica’s population is connected no matter where they are or what they are doing.

A recent study by CID Gallup in Costa Rica at the end of 2009 revealed that 46% of homes in Costa Rica have at least one computer and that 45% of the population – almost 2 million people – is connected to the internet.

In constrast to days past, the internet is everwhere in Costa Rica and mostly due to the efforts of the government’s Centros Comunitarios Inteligentes (Cecis) by the Ministerio de Ciencia Y Tecnologia (MICIT).

According to the MICIT, some 6.000 are currenlty enrolled in a free computer courses offered by the 271 CECIS centres in the country.

Connecting to the internet today in Costa Rica is quite simple, either by computer or cellular phone – a wireless connection is available just about everywhere, with many locations offering free connection – or by way of ADSL or cable modem at home or the office.

So, the next time you see someone clicking away at the small keypad of a cellular phone or gliding their fingers on a glass surface (iPhone and iPad for instance) you can bet they are connected to someone else or to the world by way of the social networks, like Facebook or Twitter.

See original article at http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2010/may/16/costarica10051608.htm