The number of internet cafes in Algeria has multiplied tenfold in the past five years moving from 500 in 1999 to 6,000 in 2005, according to the recent statistics published by the Vocational Distance Learning Establishment (EEPAD).

This progress, achieved mainly through the liberalisation of the telecom field since 2000, resulted in one million internet users in 2005 nationwide in a country of 32 million inhabitants, EEPAD's Communication Manager Abderrahmane Bedjaoui said. According to APS, he was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar organised in Algiers by the Confederation of Finance and Accounting Executives (CCFC).