SECTOR 2 With a little over 2 million PCs, excluding the informal sector, the computer penetration level in 2007 was 1.06% with a growth of 200,000 PCs per year. In Tunisia for instance, the penetration level was 5.63% at the same period. 4 Conscious of the long way ahead to reach international standards in this area, the Algerian government is displaying a real commitment to reform the sector. In 2005, the government launched the operation “Ourastic” to bring the computer population to 5 million personal computers and internet connections by 2010. Despite the credit facilities offered (from 12 to 36 months with no down payment), the initiative was a failure. The Commission has been working for almost 2 years to draft a national policy in this regard. A draft bill on the digital society is being prepared as well as a proposal to equip schools. In terms of content, newspapers are the main suppliers of Algerian news on the internet. In 2008, the internet edition of the newspaper El Watan was ranked 5th in the French-speaking media with over 1 million visitors to its website. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country minimally meets aspects of the indicator. 3 Country meets many aspects of indicator but progress may be too recent to judge. 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator and has been doing so over time. Average score: 1.3 2.10 Government does not use its power over the placement of advertisements as a means to interfere with editorial content. Management of the advertisement budget of government structures is based on patronage and politics. The advertisement contracts of public services and institutions serve as a means to put pressure on periodical publications or to support “friendly” media outlets. However, certain public or parastatal companies faced with high competition from the private sector (particularly in the 4 The statistics about the ICT equipment penetration in the Maghreb region have been released in October 2007 by Dr Najat Rochdi, a UNDP expert in communication for developement , in Algiers during an international conference on ICT training. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ALGERIA 2009 37