UN may use Net in Bosnia

The United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees is creating a plan that would use the Internet to return up to 2.5 million Bosnian refugees to their homes.

Repatriating the Bosnians will take an estimated two years and cost up to $500 million. Although the repatriation plan is still on the drawing board, officials said they might use the Internet to let refugees know whether or not it was safe to return to certain towns.

UN staffers will be sent throughout the country to collect information on specific towns and villages. They will determine the human rights situation and the condition of the town. They will also determine whether there are doctors available and whether factories are back in production. This information will be fed into computers and then posted on the Web.