In the previous years this interdisciplinary conference has been organized under different titles: Information Society Technologies in 1998-2000, and in 2001-2006 as a joint conference on Information Society Technologies / Internet and Modern Society in cooperation with Saint Petersburg State University. The principal areas for discussion during the conference have been problems in the development of information society, and results of the interdisciplinary research on the interdependence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and socio-economic processes in the contemporary society.

This year, among conference participants there were representatives from the government and private sectors, non-governmental organizations, and educational and research institutions.

This year's conference consisted of the following sessions: "Information Society: Policies and Development Factors", "Information Society: People", Information Society: Technologies", " Information Society: Innovations".

The speakers at the sessions included public figures from Russia and abroad, who have made a significant contribution into the development of ideology and practice in information technologies and the knowledge economy at the international and national levels, as well as experts in the sphere of socio-economic development, ICTs and innovations.

The main objectives of the conference were to share the knowledge and ideas in the field of ICT; discuss results of interdisciplinary research in development of information society and the knowledge economy; and exchange the experience in the implementation of ICTs in governments on at the federal, regional and municipal levels, social services, business, industry, and in the everyday life.

The conference program and other relevant materials are available at the conference web site http://www.iis.ru/events/ist2008/index_en.html. The presentations of the conference are published, please visit the conference site. The conference papers will be published in a special issue of the Information Society magazine expectedly in the end of 2008 in the Russian language.

Institute of the Information Society (IIS) prepared and presented to the conference participants a number of brand new valuable materials on a wide range of issues related to the information society development (all in Russian language):

1. Online Encyclopedia of the Information Society
The Encyclopedia contains definitions of the basic terms and concepts related to the general theme of the information society, including the use of ICTs to promote socio-economic growth. This product was created using the MediaWiki freeware, which allows all interested experts to unify their efforts in the joint work of developing this resource, which is extremely valuable for all the "builders" of the information society. Those interested in joining the team of the Encyclopedia creators have to contact IIS (info@iis.ru).

2. Tatiana Ershova. We are the Information Society! - M.: Institute of the Information Society, 2008. - 512 p.
This book introduces major concepts and theories as well as portrays the actions of the main "prophets and visionaries" of the information society. The author attempts to provide a general picture of the global information society development and to describe the milestones of the Russian policymaking process related to use of the ISTs for developing different spheres of human life and activity. The publication contains a large amount of helpful photographic illustrations and it opens to its reader a live history of IIS - the first Russian center of expertise in the field of information society. This book targets a wide audience of interested readers.

3. Kogalovsky M.R., Hohlov Yu. E. XML Standards for e-Government. - М.: Institute of the Information Society, 2008. - 307 p.
This is the first publication that provides a complete and systemic picture in Russian language of the functional capabilities of the new technological XML platform, which have been extensively used lately by e-government projects and other undertakings. The book attempts to systematize the Russian-language terminology in this field. This book targets managers, experts and developers of the e-government information systems as its audience as well as the specialists who are using the standards of the new technological Web platform.

4. Development and Use of the Information and Communication Technologies in the Russian Regions: Analytic Report / edited by Yu.E. Hohlov. - М.: Institute of the Information Society, 2008. - 240 p.
The report offers a comparative analysis of e-development factors of the Russian regions and key areas of implementation of the ICTs. The analysis uses an indicator system recommended by the leading international organizations, statistical bureaus and analytical agencies. The publication is intended for experts and managers working in the field of policy and strategy formulation for the information society development at the federal and regional levels as well as in the area of development and use of the ICTs in various areas of human life.

All IIS partners can get the books free of charge in the Institute's office (Makarenko st., 4).