BBC reports on how villagers in India can request web content — from cricket scores to photos of Britney Spears — as part of

The business was dreamed up by MITians a few years ago. The underlying technology is called DakNet — a wifi “village area network” created when vans and motorbikes fitted with short-range wifi devices are driven through villages giving people access to the internet for a short period of time. Kiosks, schools, and other common locations are equipped with PCs and wifi devices.

DakNet may have borrowed its name from Dakiya which is what bicylce riding postmen were called in India and for many still symbolize a remote village’s only connection to the world.

Not sure if the business is sustainable but villagers subscribe (Rs. 50 for a lifetime membership) for a range of services from email to SMS. You can also shop online. Delivering web content on-demand might be a new service.Villagers submit a request for specific content which is available hours later as the van or bike drives through the village broadcasting it over a wifi network.