Society's first encounter with computer networks and informationtechnology (NETS&IT) has been crystallized in the metaphor of theinformation highway with its emphasis on the movement of digitalpackets, the economic impact of the technology, and its use by theindividual producer and consumer. This paper extends the metaphor toencompass a vision of a sustained electronic (virtual) workspace as anintegral part of future society, and focuses on its use as a venue forgroup social process in civil society's pursuit of a sustainable nichefor the human species. This virtual workspace provides a venue forasynchronous social process across time and space, with an impact justas real as that of activity in the literal world. As such it will playan important role in our ability to fashion a civilization which issustainable
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