Web Sites Now Intrinsic Part of Most Embassiesí Operations by Michael Coleman Not long ago, the Embassy of Finland was fielding dozens of calls a day from school children seeking information about the country for school projects. The inquiries became so time-consuming that the Finnish Embassy dedicated a full-time employee simply to help the children find the information they needed. Then, someone had an ingenious idea: Why not put all of this information on the Internet with a site geared specifically toward young people? Soon after, "Project Finland" was born. The interactive site, launched last year, can be accessed through the embassyís official U.S. Web site. It has since gone on to win awards, an endorsement from first lady Laura Bush and the attention of hundreds of thousands of Web surfers. "As a learning tool for children, itís been really productive," said Kristiina Helenius, press counselor for the Finnish Embassy. The Finnish Embassyís creativity is just one example of how foreign embassies all over Washington are using the Internet to spread information to the public. So-called "Internet diplomacy" is growing by leaps and bounds, as embassies take to the World Wide Web to inform the public, provide consular services, and communicate during a crisis. A decade ago, many foreign embassies in Washington didnít even have a presence on the Internet. Today, almost all of them have some sort of Web site, whether itís a sophisticated interactive display with the latest graphic technology and links to myriad government agencies or a bare-bones, just-the-facts home page. The Web sites offer visitors everything from basic information about a country to downloadable visa applications to the latest news from home. The man responsible for the creation of many of the top embassy Web sites in Washington is Stefan Gudjohnsen, president of GlobeScope Internet Services. A native of Iceland, Gudjohnsen said he recognized an emerging need for Web site development in the diplomatic community back in the mid-1990s. He secured his first development contract with the embassy of his home country, Iceland, and business quickly started to snowball. "We knew there was going to be a demand," Gudjohnsen recalled during a recent interview in his spacious Connecticut Avenue office. "So we came up with a service to fill that demand." Gudjohnsen said he has developed sites for 45 of the roughly 160 embassies in Washington and has also assisted numerous foreign trade and travel offices in launching or improving their own presence on the Web. He said the content included on each embassy Web site is determined by his clients, but almost all of the GlobeScope-developed sites include standard information, such as the countryís vital statistics (size, population, geography), type of government, history and culture, and more. The sites also contain extensive consular information. In numerous interviews with embassy officials, almost all of them said efficiencyówhether itís helping the public obtain information or forms and applicationsóis the single greatest advantage to having a Web site. The sites dramatically reduce the amount of time and money embassies spend talking on the phone, sending faxes and otherwise providing information that could be just a mouse click away. "The Web site makes it a lot easier for people to get the information they need," said Nail Al-Jubeir, spokesman for the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington. Although convenience is probably the primary reason most embassies have a Web site, the sites can be used in myriad ways. The German government, for example, recently redesigned all of its international Web sites to have a consistent look and feel, with interactivity among them. "The foreign office in Berlin wanted a unified version of how the German Web sites should look," said Oliver Schramm, a German Embassy spokesman. The German Embassy employs a small staff committed almost solely to developing the Web siteís content and even hired a professional journalistóformer Baltimore Sun reporter Tanya Jonesóto serve as its in-house Web site editor. "Weíre pretty quick, if things come up, to put the new developments on the Web," Schramm said. A recent scan of the embassyís Web site revealed staff-generated articles about Germanyís efforts to help Iranian earthquake victims, the latest comments from the countryís minister of the environment regarding the Kyoto Protocol controversy, and a piece on Berlinís chances of hosting the opening ceremonies for the next World Cup soccer tournament, among many other news items. Schramm said generating news articles about Germany in-house saves time for embassy staff and journalists around the world who invariably call the embassy seeking official comments and information about the country. "Itís a very powerful instrument," Schramm said of the site. "The market for news and media is so competitive, and you can only devote so much time to talking to journalists. We reach as many peopleóor moreójust putting the information out there." But not all of the content on embassy Web sites, including Germanyís, is akin to nationalistic cheerleading. Embassies are also using the Web to fill another growing need in the new millennium: Crisis communications. When an Egyptian charter jet carrying mostly French tourists crashed on Jan. 3, killing all 148 passengers onboard, the French Embassy posted lengthy comments from its foreign minister soon after the disaster. Botswana, which launched an attractive and information-packed Web site just a few months ago, posted President Festus Mogaeís lengthy remarks on how his country is coping with the AIDS pandemic that is ravaging Botswana and many other sub-Saharan African countries. President Mogaeís comments, made in July at an international AIDS summit, were sobering. "Our cemeteries are filling with the headstones of people in their 20s and 30s," he said before eloquently outlining his countryís "comprehensive, multi-sector response" to the crisis. Other missions, such as the Austrian Embassy, have used the Web for long-term public information and communications about a specific issue. Since 1998, Austria has maintained information on its site related to the countryís restitution payments to Jewish descendents who lost property to the Nazis during the Holocaust in World War II. "This is the best way for them to find out about their claims, to look at the Web site," said Gustav Zak, Webmaster for the Austrian Embassy. The Austrian Embassy uses its site for general and consular information as well. It also maintains an interesting link called "Austrians Abroad" that allows Austrian natives to enter their names and contact information into a database. The link is immensely popular and provides an efficient way for Austrians to locate countrymen abroad for business, social occasions or just to keep in touch. Embassies from some countries, such as Brazil, that have become booming tourist destinations have created separate Web sites geared specifically to the needs of travelers. The Brazilian travel site includes streaming promotional videos, lodging information, maps and key facts about the countryóeven information about vaccinations and health risks. Maria Helena Moreira Dunne, director of tourism for the Brazilian Embassy, said the Internet has revolutionized the way her country handles travel inquiries. She said people still call the embassy seeking travel information and usually are directed to the Web site, but she added that the site itself evolves in part based on those calls. "If I have the same question from a caller three times in a row [and the information isnít on the Web], I put it on," Dunne said. Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in its Web site, and unlike most countries it manages all of the siteís functions in-house. The Saudi Embassy used to contract with a company such as GlobeScope for its Web management services but found it could be even more responsive and up-to-date by handling those duties right at the embassy. "This way we have control Ö and we can have all of the information in place when we need it," said embassy spokesman Al-Jubeir, noting that it is not unusual for the embassyís Web site to get several hundred thousand hits from Web surfers each day. Other, smaller embassies report hits ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand each day. Not all embassies are looking to make a huge splash on the Internet. The small European country of Luxembourg, for example, views its Web site as simply a gateway to the embassy itself. The site has some basic information about the country, as well as consular information, but embassy officials still expectóand appreciateóone-on-one contact with those inquiring about the c ountry. "What we like is for somebody to see the Web site, get some basic information and then contact us," said Alain Weber, a spokesman for the embassyís Web site. But although Luxembourg keeps its Web presence modest, embassy officials believe it would be unthinkable to simply not have a site. "If we werenít [online], it would be strange," Weber conceded. "It would hurt us." Frederick Martins, information director for the Nigerian Embassy, said his countryís site is immensely popular with Nigerians living in the United States. In fact, the site is geared largely toward Nigerians. "They want to know what is going on in Nigeria, and this has been an effective tool to reach out to them," Martins said. The Nigerian Embassy site contains a wealth of news from the country, as well as messages and speeches delivered by Nigerian leaders. The site also has an interestingóand slightly humorousólink that denounces those ubiquitous Internet scams involving requests for bank account information in return for a share of some stolen government money. "Most of these ëbogus business proposalsí are written in such badly constructed English Ö that one wonders how any morally responsible and law-abiding citizen would fall victim to such a scam," the embassy link reads in part. Gudjohnsen of GlobeScope said the Internet is a tool that can be used effectively no matter what the size of the country or its U.S. embassy budget. He noted that a simple yet attractive Web site can be launched for as little as a few thousand dollars. "Itís an equalizer," Gudjohnsen said. "A small country can get a Web site that is just as effective and attractive as a larger country." And donít think the embassies donít realize that. Gudjohnsen said the embassies he works with take a passionate interest in the creation of their Web site, and they often approach the development of their sites with the same goal: to be better than the country next to them on the map. "They are very competitive," Gudjohnsen said, smiling. "They want to have at least as good or better Web sites than their neighbors." Michael Coleman is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.