Visual technology unveils the beauty of statistics and swaps policy from dissemination to access

Accurate, accessible and understandable geographical, meteorological and statistical information constitute the fundament of governmental, corporate and civil society. Television, digital technology and the Internet are transforming the ways in which societies make best use of these information systems. The rate and degree at which new technology can be used in each country largely depends on economic development, but the new Information Technology is creating new opportunities for all countries. It is difficult to foresee the penetration of new technology. The Norwegian software company Opera provides free web browsers for mobile telephones; to their surprise they find their highest rates of download, per mobile phone, is in Africa. In many low-income contexts, the first way to access the Internet seems to be through mobile telephones. The cell-phone in itself, especially with low cost text messages, is also bringing modern communication technology to remote and resource poor areas. The visual animation of weather forecasts in television is a time honoured and well-established tool for mass communication of public information. Geographical information is presently making a breakthrough on the Internet, where printable maps are provided simultaneously with search results regarding telephone numbers. Online maps are also provided in cars through combined GIS and GPS software. The technology change swaps services from the public to the private sector like in telecom. And presently the private sector swaps from fee for service to telecom service without cost for those that have Internet access. But we also see surprising swaps from private sector to the civil society; like the shift from British Encyclopedia to Wikipedia. This information service is growing into the most prominent examples of the concept Web 2.0 where the customer is replaced by a user. We witness how new and better technology continuously change the way the Internet is used for exchange of information. Where does public statistics stand as change affects all sectors of society? My impression is that the National Statistical System stands out as the first and leading user of IT in the public sector, but is lagging behind in the use of the Internet. How is the Internet and Information Technology used to improve the use and understanding of statistical information? As a frequent user of public statistics, and as a daily user of e-mail, cell phones, Internet, search engines, blogs and Skype, I would say that the provision of statistical information has not changed