Japan should promote education in developing countries by offering international education programs over the Internet and by providing information technology training to school teachers and engineers in those nations, an Education Ministry panel said Monday.

As the IT revolution will be one of the major topics discussed at the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa later this week, the panel on international education cooperation made a special recommendation focusing on IT, a ministry official said.

Monday's recommendation is part of Japan's plan to pledge at the summit $15 billion in aid to developing countries over the next five years to narrow the so-called digital divide, or the difference between developing and developed nations in their access to and use of IT.

In the report submitted to Education Minister Tadamori Oshima, the panel said Japan should send government and university IT-education policy advisers to developing countries when requested, and develop international distance-learning programs using the Internet.

Under the proposed online programs, students in developing nations will be able to receive a Japanese university education in their home countries via the Internet. Such programs should be offered in Japanese and English, as well as in local languages as necessary, the panel said.

The panel also recommended establishing six-month to one-year IT training programs to be held in Japan for elementary and middle school teachers from Asian and Pacific countries.

The Japanese-funded training programs should also be offered locally in developing nations, and should be implemented by UNESCO and other international organizations, it said.

Moreover, to help increase the number of IT experts in developing countries, Japan should establish three-year training programs for engineers, the panel said.

The panel will submit a final report by the end of the year.