We are living in the age of a telecommunications revolution. In order to keep from getting (1) , many developing countries are making an intensive effort to strengthen their telecommunications infrastructure. This will help them (2) the developed countries. It was, after all, advanced telecommunications (3) gave some countries an economic advantage (4) others during the 20th century. There is one place that developing nations are (5) improve upon. That is enabling their citizens and businesses to get (6) to the Web. They are installing advanced optical fibers. These fibers, a millimeter in (7) , can bring the information superhighway to their door. The (8) investments that countries like Vietnam are making may seem too great because they still lack basic (9) , like electricity and water. However, government officials say that these moves are (10) . They are also confident that their countries will (11) the benefits. They will benefit from having more (12) and up-to-date telecommunications equipment and gaining more (13) . One Vietnamese leader said, "It is understandable that people want to (14) their immediate problems first. Still, our entire future is (15) . People don't always understand the (16) of the problem, though." He continued, "There are problems with using the antique communications equipment. And if we continue to use such old equipment, the (17) between us and the developed world will continue to widen. (18) have to be made now so that our children will have a country with opportunities equal (19) those they see in the developed world." It will not be far (20) they can cruise alongside Americans and Western Europeans on the information superhighway.