<p>the development strategy of “leapfrogging,” i.e. bypassing some of the processes of accumulation of human capabilities and fixed investment in order to narrow the gaps in productivity and output that separate industrialized and devel- oping countries. Looking to the future, the potential for leapfrogging seems even brighter owing to the emergence of Internet technologies, which are sup- porting the global flow of information and the emergence of a “virtual” cyber- space domain, in which many of the constraints of time and distance are erased. Internet technologies are particularly important because they provide an unprecedented variety of new and “open” formats for the distribution of information and the establishment of inter-organizational linkages. Are the claims made for the leapfrogging potential of these technologies realistic? Should developing countries divert scarce resources from other projects in an attempt to tap their potential? And, if they do, what are the scale and timing of the returns that might be expected? These questions are becoming ever more central as claims are made in the industrialized world that busi- nesses failing to develop effective e-commerce or information system strategies are doomed, and as major efforts are undertaken to close domestic digital divides separating regions or small and large businesses.</p>