http://www.politicsonline.com/content/main/specialreports/2005/top10_2005/vo...

The Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics

The results from the call for nominations are in and now we are asking you to select your favorite choice from the list of 20 finalists for the Top Ten Who Are Changing The World of Internet & Politics vote, sponsored by PoliticsOnline and the 6th annual E-Democracy Worldwide Forum.

This year marked the toughest year ever in choosing the 20 finalists. The integration of politics and the Internet has spread like wildfire around the globe, reflected in this year's diverse, international nominees.

The winners, those top 10 nominees who receive the most votes, will be announced at the 6th annual Worldwide Forum on Electronic Democracy -- September 28-29, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, (Paris, France).

Please review the 20 finalists below and then select one of the following as your choice for the Top Politics & Internet World Changer of 2005.

The Nominees ....

* Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva www.lula.org.br

During his tenure as Brazil's President da Silva has worked hard to take free software to Brazil's poorest citizens. One project includes opening thousands of community computer hubs where Brazilians will surf the Web, access government services, and take computing courses—all on PCs loaded with free software.

Another initiative, called PC Conectado, or Connected PC, aims at helping low-income families buy their first computers and get on the Internet—once again, on PCs equipped only with free software. Da Silva is also an ardent advocate of free software based on open source code that users can study and modify. The result is that in recent years Brazil has become one of the world's most prominent battlegrounds of the Microsoft Windows versus Linux war.