In 1996 Singapore was one of the first countries to require political and religious content providers on the Web to register with the state while simultaneously launching Singapore Inc online, the first national-level initiative in the world to use online resources to market and solicit global investment. It is a country of contrasts but Singapore has always been a leader in the Internet and network technologies so it is no surprise to see the East-Asian economic dynamo drafting innovative ways of educating the next generation. It is even less surprising that the focus is on functional IT literacies when you consider the strapline for the city-state's Ministry of Education - "moulding the future of our nation".

Every government school in Singapore has 10 computers in each classroom and teachers receive over 40 hours regular IT training in use and pedagogical techniques. But the newly launched "Future Schools" initiative takes this a step further by integrating virtual mentorships for students by overseas professors, modular online learning on topics students choose,  using avatars in online games to study history, and considerable field studies using GPS enables tablet PCs. Pod and Vod casting are to become standard issue storytelling capabilities and immersive virtual reality environments to visualise abstract concepts like the inside of the human body. Parental participation in these online expeditions is a standard expectation.

While many in the world are familiar with these ideas what is interesting is that in first-phase Singapore schools they are now a reality with an ambitious plan for rollout nationwide by 2011. How does that compare to your local comprehensive or elementary school?