DELEARN member institutions will now connect to Internet2's nationwide high performance network through MAGPI, the regional advanced networking hub serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Through this connection, DELEARN's connected institutions will also participate in the Internet2 K20 Initiative which extends the most cutting-edge, Internet-based educational opportunities to the K20 community not available today on the commercial Internet. "The Office of Information Technologies at the University of Delaware and the State of Delaware Department of Technology and Information enjoy a close collegial relationship that has reaped benefits for each and the State constituencies that we serve. University sponsorship of the State SEGP is yet another manifestation of the mutual value we find in that relationship. We are looking forward to building rich collaborative opportunities for our public K-20 communities and the State's cultural and service institutions," said Susan Foster, vice president for information technologies, University of Delaware. The connection to Internet2 will provide Delaware's public school students with more sophisticated technologies like videoconferencing for live language, cultural and other educational interactions with students all over the world. One example of how the Internet2 network is already in use in Delaware is at the Delaware School for the Deaf, where students have access to the expertise of sign-language enabled instructors at other Internet2-connected schools like those in Oklahoma and Georgia. DELEARN also hopes to enhance art preservation and conservation projects at its highly esteemed Hagley Museum and Library and the Winterthur Museum by enabling distance collaboration with experts worldwide. "Through this new connection, made possible through a generous sponsorship of Delaware's Department of Technology and Information in collaboration with Internet2 member University of Delaware, more students and teachers in Delaware will be able to create virtual classrooms and laboratories that put global resources and experts at their fingertips," said Dr. Louis Fox, director, Internet2 K20 Initiative and vice provost, University of Washington. "Over the past five years, we have seen the amazing results that advanced networking can bring to the K20 community and we look forward to working with DELEARN to further enrich this growing program." The DELEARN community will be able to tap into already established programs under the Internet2 K20 initiative, like master music classes taught by world-renowned musicians at the New World Symphony or the Manhattan School of Music using DVD-quality videoconferencing or events like Megaconference Jr., an annual project that uses videoconferencing technology to bring together thousands of students in elementary and secondary schools from around the world for an all-day learning conference. Delaware students can also to take part in famed oceanographer Bob Ballard's immersion project to receive live interactive undersea exploration demonstrations from divers in remote locations around the world. For more information, visit: its Web site