15 June 2007

The European commission (EC) is lining up a €1 billion (£660 million) plan to use digital technologies to aid the aging population.

As part of a wider e-inclusion strategy that the commission is undertaking, the Aging Well in the Information Society action plan aims to use digital technologies to improve the lives of European citizens.

It is the EC's hope that new technology can help these individuals to remain an integral part of society and fend off the risk of exclusion, while also making the continent's health services more efficient.

Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for the Information Society and Media, said that while the aging population of the continent provides a challenge to the job market, it also presents social and economic opportunities.

"ICT will provide new and more accessible products and services that meet the needs of older people," she remarked.

Some of the key tenets for successful e-inclusion outlined by the EC are e-accessibility, digital literacy, inclusive e-government and digital literacy.

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