IN HOSTING one of the most prestigious regional information technology events in the country next year, the Philippine Computer Society aims to showcase the mobilization of Internet technology for distance education. One of the most ambitious plans for the Southeast Asia Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) 2000 conference are live Internet protocol (IP)-based videoconferences of the three-day event, acting as a virtual conference accessible to participating Philippine schools.

''If we are successful, we would have demonstrated the power of distance learning, which to me is the solution to the age-old Philippine problem of not having enough classrooms and teachers. Imagine the impact this would have on our educational system,'' said Augusto Lagman, PCS director and president of the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines. Lagman chairs the organizing committee of SEARCC 2000, which will be held next year on Nov. 27-29 at the Westin Philippine Plaza and the World Trade Center.

According to him, the PCS is targeting at least 100 educational institutions, which will be charged a minimal franchising fee to hook up to the videoconferences and market the virtual conference to their students. He also said an additional benefit would be that Searcc 2000 could tap via videoconferencing the participation of members of the National Information Technology Council's international advisory board. These include Intel Corp. president and chief executive officer Craig Barrett, Business Software Alliance president and CEO Robert Holleyman II, and, most recently, Dr. Kim Joo Jin, chair and CEO of Amkor Technology.

Internet service provider Sky Internet Inc., which will help the PCS set up the videoconferencing facilities for SEARCC 2000, is reportedly looking at using either a US- or Israeli-based videoconferencing solution, or even a mixture of both. Tim Diaz de Rivera, Sky Internet's general manager, said they would conduct internal tests later this year, with a planned dry run by April or May next year.

''We really want to test the more low-cost videoconferencing over IP to see if it's robust and high-quality, because the more high-tech videoconferencing solutions are not applicable to distance learning. They won't be affordable to schools," he explained.

He added that the virtual exhibit would be relatively closed circuit, describing it as a pay-per-view broadcast over a virtual private network, though it would still be deploying Internet technologies. ''We are talking to satellite technology and regular broadband technology providers and their feedback has been positive," he said.

At present, however, the SEARCC 2000 organizers are not certain whether they would open up the videoconferences for actual webcasts over the Internet. While the advantage is that more Netsurfers can view SEARCC 2000 by logging on to the website, live webcasts might discourage delegates from flying in to the actual conference. Lagman, however, said one possible solution is to webcast only certain segments.

''The only reason we haven't decided yet on which videoconferencing technology to use is that technology keeps changing at a rapid rate. At some point, however, we'll have to make a decision--maybe by March next year," he added.

While the SEARCC 2000 website is already under construction, the organizers said it would only be launched at www.searcc2000.com after the staging of SEARCC '99, which will be held in Singapore from Dec. 1 to 3. This is part of the tacit agreement among SEARCC member-countries, which also prevents the PCS from inviting speakers to SEARCC 2000 until this year's conference ends.