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Innovations made possible by developments in information and communication technology (ICT) are driving the way economies operate and there are concerns among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries that those without access to ICT will be excluded from participation in a modern economy. This document addresses the issue of the ‘digital divide’ which refers to the discrepancies in access to ICT. The importance of ICT to economic and social development demands that priority be given to ‘bridging’ the digital divide. The knowledge and skills required to efficiently use ICT are just as important as access to the technology. The ‘learning digital divide’ must also be bridged, both in educational institutions, communities and workplaces. This document builds on papers and discussions from the Fifth National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL)/OECD Roundtable, held at the University of Pennsylvania, 8-10 December 1999. It provides an analysis of the ‘learning digital divide’ in a range of developed and developing countries and the policies and initiatives designed to bridge it. The chapters are as follows: The emerging policy agenda / Stephen McNair; Different educational inequalities: ICT an option to close the gaps / Guillermo Kelley-Salinas; The digital divide: making knowledge available in a global context / Nolan A. Bowie; Emerging trends and issues: the nature of the digital divide in learning / synthesis by the OECD Secretariat; The digital divide within formal school education: causes and consequences / Richard L. Venezky; Basic skills in adult education and the digital divide / Lynda Ginsburg, John Sabatini and Daniel A. Wagner; Towards bridging learning’s digital divide / synthesis by the OECD Secretariat; ICT, equity and the challenge of lifelong learning: the Swedish approach / Sten Ljungdahl; Other national approaches: Portugal, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, Finland / Joao Santos, Robin Ritzema, Takashi Sakamoto, Robert Muller, Jouni Kangasniemi.