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A task force to advise government on the creation of a society at ease with the rapid developments in information and communications technologies should be set up by the end of this year, according to a House of Lords report out this week.

An information society task force would also help broker an agreement between industry and government for the connection of all schools to the Internet and all GPs to their local hospitals.

In its report on the information society, the Lords science and technology select committee says that through the universities' broadband network, SuperJANET, higher education has access to an advanced infrastructure that is the "closest equivalent the United Kingdom has to a Superhighway backbone".

A study should identify whether industry also needs access to SuperJANET.