Contents -- Foreword. -- Acknowledgements. -- Biographical notes on the authors and research coordinators. -- Introduction -- The Internet and its impact on Latin American and Caribbean society: Research and dialogue. -- The Internet, culture and education -- Navigators and castaways in cyberspace: Psychosocial experience and cultural practices in school children's Internet. -- Introducing new information and communication technologies in two rural schools of central Chile: An ethnographic approximation. -- Learning from the pioneers: Best practices as exemplified in the TELAR network. -- The social impact of the Internet at the local level -- The social impact of introducing ICTs in local government and public services: Case studies in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. -- The social impact of information and communication technologies at the local level. -- The Internet and local governance: Towards the creation of a community habitus. -- Measuring qualitative and quantitative impacts: Design and implementation of online registration systems for telecentres using Linux platforms. -- The Internet, rights and society -- The impact of new information and communication technologies on privacy rights. -- Copyright and the Internet. -- Public policy and the Internet -- Towards a model of franchises for community telecentres in Latin America. -- The Internet and socially relevant public policies: Why, how and what to advocate? -- The social impacts of ICTs in Latin America and the Caribbean: The MISTICA virtual community and the OLISTICA observation network. -- Introductory notes for the analysis of ICT policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. -- Conclusion -- Creating synergy between research on the social impact of ICTs and political action for equitable development.