The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $328 million plan last week to provide computer and internet services through public libraries in developing nations. Botswana, Latvia and Lithuania won the initial grant of $17.5 million. A portion of the grants will be set aside to IT training. The news was announced in the wake of initiatives by a number of companies and groups to provide low cost IT services and products to poor and under developed countries. Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab and Via Technologies have since pledged $1 billion over the next 5 years for the same cause.