1. "The main goal of the multilingual resource is to answer your questions and help you understand the process of achieving your educational goals if you plan to study in the United States," the VCO Web site states.

2. "This is an effort on our part to be sensitive to how study abroad decisions are made in other cultures," said State Department Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA), Education Information and Resources Branch Chief Mary Thompson–Jones, whose office supports the EducationUSA network and provided funding to launch the VCO project.

3. The Web site, called the EducationUSA Virtual Consulting Office (VCO), includes general information on higher education in the United States, an online question and answer service and a discussion forum.
'4; The service, available in Russian since January 2003, has expanded to include Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and English versions.

4. GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY, GLOBAL REACH Frank Mok, an EducationUSA adviser based in Beijing, said that the Chinese language virtual consulting Web site is particularly important, given the shear size of China.
'4; Despite the fact there are 46 EducationUSA information centers throughout the country, he said, demand for information on studying in the United States is "so high, we cannot reach all prospective students." Chinese students are very technology–savvy and frequently use online resources to find the information they want, Mok said, so the VCO was a "natural expansion" toward a fast, effective, interactive online advising service with broad reach.

5. Asked how the site is different from other online study–abroad inquiry tools, he said, "Our uniqueness âЂ¦ is that we offer these services for free.
'4; We provide accurate, comprehensive, current and unbiased information to students." PARENTS SEEK INFORMATION ON STUDYING IN THE USA The Chinese language VCO site, Mok added, was needed not only to provide accurate, timely information on study in the United States to more people, but also to respond to questions from parents of children considering study in the United States.