``Internet has greatly influenced today's generation, which is evident from the fact that unlike the radio or the television, which took years to reach various parts of the country, the Net took even less than five years to gain entry into homes,'' Ray observed.

Stressing on the need to expose school children to the Net, Ray said, information technology should be a part of the school curriculum.

Speaking on the occasion, forum chairman C Buch said, ``While local dailies have since 1996 been stating that Internet would be a reality for residents, industrialists and business houses of the city, till the previous year there were no signs that the Internet would come to the city.''

Explaining the aim behind setting up the forum, Buch said it was an attempt to bring like-minded people of the city on a common platform and put forward their demands. ``Now that Internet has come to the city and there are several users also, the forum is working towards helping people get better and quick service,'' Buch said.

Buch said the forum had organised a poster competition for school children to enable it get an idea about children's knowledge about the Internet.

``The contest results will help us gauge the awareness level and accordingly we can plan out our programmes at school level,'' Buch said.

The forum members also felicitated Telecom General Manager Rakesh Babu at their function.