During their visit to Iraq, they will provide conceptual input as well as ideas on how new technologies can be used to build local capacity, foster greater transparency and accountability, build upon anti-corruption efforts, promote critical thinking in the classroom, scale-up civil society, and further empower local entities and individuals by providing the tools for network building. As Iraqis think about how to integrate new technology as a tool for smart power, we view this as an opportunity to invite the American technology industry to be part of this creative genesis.

Mobile phone use is nearly universal in Iraq. However, the country is served by various phone networks, resulting in a "bit of comical" situation -- many residents carry at least two phones from separate providers to ensure that they are always connected....

Five percent of the country has Internet access at home, but a larger unknown percentage of Iraqis get online at Internet cafes, he wrote. Because of the ubiquity of mobile phones, text messaging is very popular.

"There is also a ton of SMS (short message service) usage here, which is encouraging as it may provide an alternative means of interacting with certain services as Iraqis wait for internet broadband (to) develop," Bar-Cohen wrote.

The country is working to improve Internet connections, but efforts have been hampered by "sabotage missions which disrupt the work" and other factors, he said.

"The optimistic projections are for Iraq to be at around 60% broadband penetration in about 18-24 months if things go according to plan," he wrote.