Nepal tragedy raises internet profile

Cybercafes are affordable in Kathmandu

As news of the massacre in Nepal emerged, websites quickly became inundated, and among the first to be quoted as a source by news agencies.

Nepalnews.com and similar sites were propelled into the limelight as state-run radio and television remained conspicuously silent for hours after the killings.

A worried diaspora was trying to find out what had happened.

The huge flow of e-mails and discussion room traffic is perhaps a sign that the internet has finally come of age in one of the world's poorest countries.

E-mails flood in

Nepal's capital Kathmandu now boasts several small internet cafes but, significantly, they are affordable.

There are at least four internet service providers or ISPs facilitating the service in Kathmandu. Correspondents say the internet is slowly spreading to other urban areas too.

As people mourned their departed royals, the e-mails from Nepal flooded into BBC News Online.

"All this is a very sad affair. The sad demise of our Late King Birendra and then late King Dipendra has left us all bereft," said one.

"I feel this nation has lost a loving father," commented another.

Grief

The internet has enabled the Nepalese diapora to share in the grief as a virtual community as well as contributing to an array of conspiracy theories over the shooting, which included:

• Involvement by King Gyanendra's son
• An Indian plot
• A Chinese role
• Islamist involvement

The Nepalese royal massacre may have plunged the country into uncertainty, but its enhanced presence on the internet has given the Himalayan kingdom a higher profile.

Search for Nepal now and hundreds of entries will show up on your monitor.