E-learning company Learn2.com Inc. has signed a deal with the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide online courses to the agency's 5,000 employees. The courses will include IT certification, Internet training, as well as instruction on Lotus Notes, Microsoft Office, and other office software.

Anita Weeks, CIO of the VA's Veterans Integrated Service Network, says she chose Learn2.com because its streaming technology can send multimedia content, particularly bandwidth-intensive video, across very narrow pipes---as small as 28.8 Kbps.

"I thought that was valuable because employees, if they have a few minutes at home, can access the Internet at home and get the training," Weeks says. The on-demand courses will be at a dedicated site, Learn2University, set up by the vendor and the VA. About 200 employees have signed up so far.

Once strictly an aggregator of content, Learn2.com bought E-learning content creator ViaGrafix in August 1999. Says a spokeswoman for Learn2, "Now we can control the quality of the courseware."