Update July 2000: Morocco

This quarter witnessed an extraordinary number of promotion activites concerning the Information Society in general and Internet technologies in particular.

• The 6th annual MISOC Conference was organized on May 6th by the MISOC. This conference was dedicated largely to presenting Moroccan portals.
• A seminar on Electronic Commerce was organized on May 19th by the International Chamber of Commerce and the Group of " Banques Populaires " on the theme, " Electronic Commerce : international experiences and national context ".
• Several forums of Engineering Schools were organized in April and May by the EMI, INSEA, ENSIAS and the ESI. These forums were centred on "Information Technology and Business."

Equally of note was the introduction of WAP technology. Maroc Telecom announced its offering through its Menara portal. Several banks, including the Crédit du Maroc and the BMCI also announced customized WAP services for their client base.

The ISP provider " Fusion " abandoned its traditional activities in favor of developing internet content. Fusion created a dedicated structure that now offers on-line advertising and consultancy services. Its current offer now includes :

• A "News.central" site offering local and national information and commentary ;
• Morocco’s first dedicated Internet advertising agency
• Prototypes of english and arab versions of Internet content.

Moroco has also been chosen as the hub for the development of Orientation.com in Africa. This American network of portals, specialized in developing countries, will be using Moroccan engineers to develop it French content and offering. The current site will be offering free e-mail, chat sessions, news groups, and discussion forums to French speaking Africa.

Planetarabia.com is developing its own portal out of its offices in Casablanca. This American company has chosen Morocco as its hub for development in the Arab world. Planetarabia will be both competing directly with, and monitoring the progress of its American rival Orientation.com. The company announced the launch of the French version of its site in April.

Motorola Morocco announced the opening of four services centres in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech and Fes. These new centres will service Motorola products, and train new users on GSM technologies and functionalities. The current network, whose development has been subcontracted locally to the firm "Lacom", will be extended to Tanger and Agadir before the end of the third quarter of this year.

In another subcontracting agreement, Omnidata signed a 12 million DH contract for the integration of Oracle software solutions at Maroc Telecom. The installation should be operational before this coming Fall.

Finally, the ASP Audi Web created an employment site as a virtual employment agency for local employers. The Moroccan center for Export Promotion (CMPE) has announced the creation of a virtual catalogue of Moroccan products and firms to support its promotion efforts abroad.