France Telecom put in place a system to regulate the flow of calls to and from the U.S., in response to a request from U.S. carriers, the French carrier said.

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France has that tradition, and for many years it has also had the Minitel: a once-advanced interactive screen system run by France Telecom, which even now supplies a lot of information, though it is less used for actual sales.

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They came back with recommendations that included joining the World Trade Organization, passing laws to protect intellectual property, improving the telecom infrastructure and beefing up the education system.

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They returned with recommendations that included joining the World Trade Organization, passing laws to protect intellectual property, improving the telecom infrastructure, changing 25 laws to make doing business easier and beefing up the education system.

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The internet gave the coup de grace to the system and displaced it, and though it's still accessed by millions each year, France Telecom will pull the plug once and for all this Saturday.

ENGADGET: Minitel to be shut down tomorrow: France bids adieu to the internet's precursor