Digital Queers goes online

They're gay, they're online, and they want company.

That could be the mantra of Digital Queers, a national nonprofit network of gay techies working to provide access to the community.

DQ, based in San Francisco, will be launching a pilot program called the Virtual Community Center in conjunction with the Pacific Bell Foundation. The pilot aims to give all Bay Area gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender organizations an online presence, according to Scott Walton, DQ's executive director.

While DQ works with nonprofits to get them online with their own Web pages, the work doesn't happen at once, Walton said. Through the community center, groups can get listings without actually having to dedicate themselves to Web pages, he said.

"This project is a way of getting their information onto the Internet even before they themselves are online and have their own Web sites," Walton said.

The Bay Area project is only the beginning. In the future, DQ will provide the templates to other geographic areas in hopes that the whole nation will have a wired presence. "What we hope for is this template and model will get replaced at DQ chapters and gay and lesbian community centers," Walton said.

For more information is available DQ's Web page, or if you live in the Bay Area, you can find out more at their benefit party scheduled for tomorrow night.