In the 1980s, the Tofflers envisioned the future of the information society in the Third Wave. Twenty years later, it is now a reality. The development of communication infrastructure has permitted the rapid spread of wireless technology, including cellular phones, personal computers, and the Internet. The Drs. Tofflers predicted that in the information era, agricultural societies could transform directly into information societies, bypassing the industrial stage entirely. They could then easily avoid all of the side effects and social turmoil that too often characterize the industrial period.

In modern mainland China, a daring group of individuals has already proven the Tofflers' prophetic theory correct. The successful example of Yellow Sheep River in Gansu province, as well as 54 village schools in western China, has verified that the Internet not only connects dreams in remote and impoverished areas, but also radically speeds local economic development. The Internet has demonstrated beyond all doubt that it can change the course of people's lives. Only by way of the Internet can one eliminate the digital divide and assist underdeveloped areas in bidding a final farewell to poverty. Hence, this group has established Town and Talent Technologies with a 50 million US dollar investment. This business is operating within the framework of western Chinese development, and will unveil the market potential of over 800 million Chinese farmers.

The central aim of the Town and Talent Project is to introduce information technology in agricultural areas. This will spark development of local knowledge-based economies, increasing their rate of transformation into information societies. Establishing an Internet Village is not only a means of eliminating the digital divide, but also serves as a shortcut to modernization and a way out for villages. Hence, Town and Talent Technologies will establish Internet Villages in several locations in western China. This will open a window to the information society for locals. As the Town and Talent Project reaches fruition, villagers will begin to sense the dawning of a new information era. This denotes the profitable nature of Town and Talent Technologies, and will certainly benefit all investors in the project.

In many parts of western China, villages exist in a state of isolation, ignorance, underdeveloped conditions, and abject poverty. In highly developed regions like North America, Western Europe, and Japan, the major difference between large cities and small towns lies not in the quality of community development or standard of living, but rather in whether one wishes to live in peaceful quiet or active centers. Life in small suburban towns in developed regions does not lack in any way compared to life in active metropolises. Small towns are actually far more serene and enjoy a more natural environment. They are ideally suited towards raising families. They are blessed with convenient road access and a vast selection of stores. It is not uncommon to find five-star hotels in the midst of small towns. In fact, many small suburban towns are located within one hour's driving distance of a major city. This prompts people to commute between their workplace in the city and homes in the suburbs. For example, many individuals working in New York City live in towns in the surrounding 50 miles. These small towns are considered the bedrock of New York's enviable economy, and were built upon the popularization of the automobile. Highly-developed industrial economies permit people in cities or small towns to live and work according to their own abilities. Small towns have the added benefit of an enhanced environment, and have become the number one preference of middle and upper-class families. The incomes, living standards, and knowledge level of people living in small towns and large cities are identical.

Since western China and other underdeveloped areas are located in distant regions, they were unable to participate in the modern industrial wave, leaving their economies behind other regions in terms of basic technology, qualified workers, and speed of technological innovation. These underdeveloped areas include many cities that are still toiling within the agricultural civilization. Small towns and villages located in even more remote regions exist in utterly primitive agricultural societies. It is of no surprise that people in these deprived agricultural areas are deeply impoverished and endure grinding lives. For centuries, they have been trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance, vulnerability, and a lack of vision. Seeing no hope of relief, they have clung to a traditional mentality and lifestyle. People there are completely unfamiliar with the industrial civilization, let alone the advent of the information civilization. These poverty-stricken inhabitants have little ability to create wealth, thus ensuring painful daily existences. Hence, there is a tremendous gap between the incomes, living standards, and knowledge level of those living in underdeveloped regions and the eastern coastal developed region of China.