ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case study of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) trends in the Madrid metropolitan area, analysing the use of advanced Internet services in both the public and business sectors. In economic terms, ICT eliminates trade barriers and promotes the development of international business, factors leading to the reformulation of corporate strategies. The influx of more than a million immigrants during the first decade of 21st century has contributed substantially to the growth of Madrid and immigration has transformed Madrid and its urban area into a multicultural metropolis. Despite significant progress in the global development of networks during the 1980s, the great leap forward in the diffusion of Internet and the growth of the Information Society only occurred in the mid-1990s, when the world wide web was created. The proportion of the Spanish population who use Internet is almost ten percentage points below the average for the European Union and below the levels reached in countries as Sweden.
