Mammootty roped in as ambassador for IT project

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 20 (IANS) Malayalam film star Mammootty has been roped in by the Kerala government as its goodwill ambassador for the IT project Akshaya.

A statement from the state IT Mission that runs the Akshaya project said as goodwill ambassador, Mammootty will take up the responsibility of spearheading a campaign by appearing in print and visual media advertisements and other publicity materials that will send the message of Akshaya to the grassroots.

Reacting to his selection, Mammootty said he was happy to be associated with the unique project that aims to change the face of Kerala.

"If the benefits of IT reach the entire population of Kerala, we can develop to the level of any developed society in the world. The Akshaya project of the Kerala government has started functioning with this aim," said the superstar.

"I am sure that this unique project will make Kerala into a knowledge society based on technology."

Akshaya, which was started in Malappuram district in 2002, completed the first phase of an e-literacy programme by providing computer training to 580,000 people in the district. Kerala has one of the highest literacy rates among the states in India.

The project has been rolled out to seven more districts. On completion of the e-literacy programme in these districts, 3.5 million people will be trained to handle computers.

Recently the state government decided to implement Akshaya in the remaining six districts of the state and preparatory work has begun.

When the e-literacy programme is completed, 6.4 million people will be made e-literate in the state.