Network Will Unite Ill Children

Starbright Foundation chairman Steven Spielberg this week unveiled a corporate alliance that aims to build a computer network linking seriously ill children around the country.

Under the deal, UB Networks, Sprint, Intel Corp. and Worlds Inc. will jointly build a broadband computer network that will allow the children to interact with each other from their hospital beds.

“This venture is a merger for kids,” Spielberg said. “The alliance among these corporations represents the first practical, pro-social application of this techology.”

He said the network will enable hospitalized children to communicate and play together regardless of their physical limitations. Such social activity has proved to be significantly therapeutic, said Peter Samuelson, president and founder of the Starbright Foundation.

The Starbright Foundation, a sister organization of the Starlight Foundation, was formed in 1991 to enhance the quality of life of seriously ill children and their families.