This issue highlights the importance of promoting the knowledge society and the culture of knowledge exchange in the region through the information and communications technology (ICT) which contributes to generating, treating, classifying and exchanging information.

The Bulletin of Industrial Statistics for the Arab Countries aims to provide detailed industrial data on Arab countries for the users of such statistics, including policymakers, analysts and researchers, in order to assist them in meeting their needs in this area. The publication includes time series of data and indicators for the period 2001-2007. Data are drawn primarily from national sources, as well as from secondary sources where appropriate. The Bulletin is divided into two parts.

Noting the impact of ICTs on social and economic development, this issue presents the four different dimensions for the use of technology in employment creation. It also focuses on initiatives undertaken by ESCWA in that regard, and on projects being implemented in the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. Moreover, this Review highlights the major studies and activities carried out by ESCWA in that field, and emphasize the importance of developing the digital content industry in the Arab region. This issue addresses the preparations for and challenges of the second phase of the WSIS.

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in population censuses is becoming increasingly common.. GIS can be used at several stages pf census taking , from locating housing units, building relationships between variables, delineating administrative boundaries ( district, village, ...) and statistical ones (e.g., census blocks), to dissemination and spacial analysis of data by "location".