The internet has changed the world.

This global network connects millions of computers around the world to exchange information in a moment.

But it's a revolution that's left much of the Pacific behind.

Now it's catch up time.... Clement Paligaru heads to Papua New Guinea's first cyber village.

Clement Paligaru: It's time for another lesson for the grade threes at Gaire Primary School. But this is no ordinary class. They may not realise it but these children are leading rural Papua New Guinea into the digital age. This is the first remote government school to have computers and the internet in the classroom.

Gaire school principal, Henry Karaho: With the laptops that we have now with the kids, they have learning activities like mathematics, there's a lot of mathematics inside. There are typing lessons, now the kids can actually learn how to type words in a sentence. So there's heaps of learning activities. That's making it very important and exciting for us teachers. And the kids too.

Clement Paligaru: Eventually each class will have laptops, courtesy of the global initiative One Laptop Per Child, which aims to connect children in developing countries to the internet.

Gaire is also part of the Pacific Rural Internet Connectivity System, a project to connect rural villages to the world wide web through village telecentres.

Reverend Sisia Maina, Gaire United Church: Oh Gaire is the luckiest village because we are exposed to the world, the global world.

Clement Paligaru: The Reverend is even tapping in to the net to freshen up his weekly sermon.

Reverend Sisia Maina: Looking at the bible and seeing other theologians, their view, on points of the bible, they give me help, by giving me new insights.

Clement Paligaru: There are also economic benefits for this coastal village. Being connected has improved contact with the capital, Port Moresby, an hour away.

Gaire local, Hera John: Sea cucumber collectors, they contact the buyers. Instead of travelling to Port Moresby, they just contact their buyers through email, to let them know they have this amount of sea cucumbers. And then they discuss prices and all that.

Clement Paligaru: Locals hope the internet will also create much needed opportunities for Gaire's young people.

Hera John: We have many school leavers who have come back to the village and who are doing nothing, some young people and all that. So I think this has the potential to help them to gain information online where they didn't know before.

Communication Department Secretary, Henao Iduhu: We have employment problems here. But we're hoping these new methods of learning with computers, will perhaps help students to see the world and learn something from the outside world and perhaps puts something into their own lives when they leave school.

Clement Paligaru: If it is shown that Gaire's economy, employment - even school retention rates - improve as a result of its new cyber-status, then Papua New Guinea could well have a new template for development.

Henau Iduhu: It's not just Gaire. We are using Gaire as a pilot site. But as for Papua New Guinea, I think we cannot waste time. We must accept the emergence of modern technology, and the usefulness of the technology, in education processes and it's just incredible. We must not waste time.

Clement Paligaru: And this generation of increasingly computer savvy youngsters isn't wasting any time exploring the full potential of the new technology, taking their elders into the future with them.

Henry Karaho: When I was a student I never knew anything about a computer, I had never seen one. And even in my 30 years of teaching now, now that I am a principal, my knowledge of the computer is really really basic, very very small. So now when I walk into the grade three classroom, and there is the teacher with the students, all busy doing the activities on the computer, this is just something very very new...I get really excited about it.