LankaNest to reach out to Sri Lankans worldwide

Connecting Sri Lankans with Sri Lanka is the main objective of the newly-launched web portal LankaNest. The website has a variety of E-services guaranteed to make cross-border transactions of goods and services much easier.

The web site has a number of segments. There are local news, views, shopping, gift delivery, photographs and information on the culture and history of the island. Speaking at the launch, Executive Director of the venture Sugath Perera explained that the idea originated from a survey they did on how much information was available on the Internet, about Sri Lanka.

“We realized that no website had comprehensive data on everything that is Sri Lanka, so we started out by collecting all the photographs we could of the various parts of the island.” This idea eventually led to a site where Sri Lankans abroad can now log in to get a complete idea of happenings on the home front.

One question that was posed by the journalists present was if the ‘News’ section of the portal would be a ‘cut and paste’ operation from local newspapers. However, Perera clarified it by saying that the Media Nest segment which he called the “most important element” would be handled by an independent team of journalists. The Media Nest will also feature an archive of all the satirical cartoons published locally with easy reference so that surfers can find what they want fast.

The shopping and gift delivery section of the site which has already been launched is a service where Lankans abroad can e-purchase their goods off the site and pay for it through their credit cards. Speaking on payment security, Executive Director Sarath Saranga Perera assures that renowned pay master Pay Pal will be used for the card transactions. Delivery is ensured to any part of the island. “Deliveries are a bit difficult with the resources that we have but we hope to make an independent delivery team,” said Perera.