LAGOS-based Internet Service Provider (ISP), SignOnAfrica, has commenced a six-week campaign targeted at offering free web hosting.

The offer targeted particularly on students and small-scale business organizations, according to the Chief Executive of SignOnAfrica, Mr. Godwin Okafor, is to get about 5,000 Nigerians to host their private Internet domain names.

Mr. Okafor said that the campaign which began last week would end by second week of March, 2003.

"The campaign is for 5,000 lucky Nigerians, who send in their applications between February 2 and 16 March to benefit from the project," he declared, adding that the offer is on first come, first serve.

According to him, the importance of this campaign is to further empower the Nigeria people, especially students and small scale businesses as well as corporate bodies.

He noted that Internet as an indispensable tool at this Information Age, is more than electronic mail (e-mail).

Stressing that the campaign would afford recipients to have their own "private and exclusive domains to show-case their collective and individual skills and participate in the use of the Internet as a tool for dissemination of information concerning businesses, education among other things.

"Each successful applicant, would be given a five megabyte web space, which means a total of not less than 10 pages to display personal and corporate information," Mr. Okafor explained.

In addition, successful applicants would be entitled to "three e-mail accounts, full hosting account with all the features, and opportunity to upgrade at anytime".

He pointed out that the campaign is part of his firm's commitment to the growth and empowerment of Nigerians, in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) tools.