Local officials said the first direct links would bring Afghanistan on-line within two to three months as part of a 15-year phased program designed to eventually reconstruct the local telecommunications sector.

The move, which has the blessing of the hardline Taliban regime, follows months of negotiations with US-based Telephone Systems International Inc (TSI). It is expected to begin installing satellite dishes and microwave equipment by mid-May.

Says, TSI vice-president for administration, Stuart Bentham: "The satellite-based system will be connected to the existing telephone system in Kabul, which was installed in 1956. This will enable residents to make international calls from their homes". While direct global dialling has been standard in much of the world for decades, theconcept remains a novelty in Afghanistan where most of the infrastructure has been destroyed by war.

There are only two known international lines. One links Kabul with Peshawar in Pakistan, the second was installed by British Telecom in 1990 and linked London with Kabul. But authorities said the London link had not been used since 1992 when the civil war escalated. Afghanistan's country code is 93 and it's not in too many phone books.

The Taliban's deputy communications minister, Mulla Alladad Tabib, said restoration of communications was crucial for the economy.

Asked about the military implications of providing telephone services to a country embroiled in civil war, Bentham said: "This project is for all Afghans and we are trying to shy away from the internal political aspects of the country. "