LAST week saw the country celebrating One Internet Day--in installments, that is.

March 29 is generally considered to be the anniversary of the Internet in the Philippines. It was at 10:59 a.m. on March 29, 1994 that PHNet's connection to Sprint in the United States became active.

On March 28, information technology leaders from the government and private sector gathered at the Senate to exchange ideas on the growth of the Internet in the country and the need for the Philippines to play a greater role in the Net economy. While many local companies are already rushing to venture into e-commerce, the absence of a legal framework is still seen as an obstacle. The government, however, has already made passage of the pending e-commerce bill Senate Bill 1902 a priority, and its proponents hope to accomplish this before the congressional recess in mid-April.

Meanwhile, the PH-Cyberview online forum headed by list manager Jim Ayson also celebrated the Internet's sixth anniversary on March 29 by holding its first eyeball party at the Grilla Bar and Grill in Libis, QC.

CyberPromdi, an on-line community of Cebu-based information technology professionals, internet and e-commerce enthusiasts and technopreneurs at http://cyberpromdi.webjump.com, also celebrated One Internet Day Cebu on March 31.