Preparatory talks in Geneva ahead of November's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) have ended amid controversy, NGOs tell swissinfo. Wolf Ludwig, a spokesman for Swiss non-governmental organisations, says participants from civil society have been sidelined, and are considering a boycott of the UN-sponsored event, which is to take place in Tunisia....a majority of representatives of civil society involved in the WSIS decided to send a letter to the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan. It states clearly that conditions for a fruitful summit have not been met and without substantial improvement before November 16 [summit start], the international civil society will reconsider its participation. We are therefore considering organising a counter summit parallel to the official conference. It should demonstrate that NGOs are not willing to be passive observers. That said, we are well aware that the Tunisian government will do everything in its power to block such an initiative. But this will once again show the unwillingness of the government of Ben Ali .

swissinfo-interview: Frédéric Burnand in Geneva