ALBERTA
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Assume that she has saved enough egg-and-butter money to take you for a foreign trip, specifically to Milan, Italy.

So, you need a hotel room. The travel literature gives you an e-mail address for Milan's luxury hotels. You send an enquiry. I've got another surprise for you: your e-mail message went to a small office in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

This is just one of the more interesting case histories I have encountered as I research the commercial uses of the Internet in the smaller centres. Stephen and Cora Serenelli are the proprietors of "Serenelli - P.A. - Desktop Publishing." There's both a down-home touch and a continental touch to this partnership. Cora hails from Prince Albert. She went to Italy on a university vacation break and liked it so much she stayed for 20 years. In the course of this she met Stephen, who co-ordinated public-relations activities for an agency that served the tourist industry.

The illness of Cora's mother brought this couple home and after some reflection, they decided to relocate. Their core business is commercial art and design work. A partner firm is Action Printing Ltd. They produce City Lights News, a free-distribution community newsletter with two editions, one in print, and one electronic. This deals mainly with coming events in P.A. and district.

It was Stephen's contacts with the tourist industry in and around Milan that helped him get that reservations contract. Cora and Stephen now handle all e-mail enquiries for four luxury hotels, three in a chain, and one independent. If you mention a country, they nod in agreement: yes, they handle reservations from there, whether it is Sweden, Germany, Greece, or North America.

I checked their web pages and read those which promote Hotel Ariston, one of their clients. Prices range from $115(US), single, to $205(US) for triple occupancy. Rates include buffet breakfast and taxes. There are discounts for off-season visitors.

To me, Serenelli's service is an excellent reminder of how the Internet banishes distance. Now that hundreds of smaller communities have Internet connections, thanks to Industry Canada's Community Access Project, this is the type of commercial application which can be operated from the most remote community; the only requirements are telephone, computer, modem, and Internet connection. Oh yes, and don't forget the research and the initiative. Without these nothing happens.

If you are interested in promoting your community on the Internet, then I recommend you check the work the Serenellis have done on theirs. (www.CityLightsNews.com) Their map of Prince Albert is marked off in numbered squares. Click on one of them and the map zooms into an enlargement. You learn which house numbers are in which blocks. There are full-color maps of area and province, complete with the flags of city, province and nation complete with histories. There are detailed lists of every type of service. Most impressive.

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