Dial up that's five times as fast. Broadband at three times its usual speed. A mirage? UK Internet acceleration company ONSPEED says otherwise. Through a partnership with Teamwork Outsourcing Sdn Bhd, ONSPEED is introducing a special programme to help address the digital divide in Malaysia and other Asia Pacific countries.

According to Teamwork chief executive officer Norm Hosken, the programme called "Up and Over The Digital Divide- With ONSPEED", will see the two partner firms providing a selected school and a local business association with ONSPEED on a gratis basis for a year.

Teamwork hopes to reach out to communities without without access to broadband and bring near-broadband speeds to dial-up users with ONSPEED's Internet acceleration software of the same name. With Malaysia hoping to have ten percent broadband penetration by 2008, Hosken believes that ONSPEED can help accelerate adoption by bringing near-broadband speeds to the 2.5 million people already on dial-up.

ONSPEED is a software download that lets users browse the web and send and receive e-mails up to five times faster than regular dial-up speeds. Users don't need additional hardware to use ONSPEED just download it and run it straight off your computer at an annual payment of RM180.00, which amounts to about RM15 a month.

Teamwork is currently inviting towns without broadband to participate in this programme, simply e-mail Teamwork with your reasons on why your town or community should be selected. The online version of ONSPEED is available for purchase/download at www.onspeedasia.com