When it comes to Pakistan, most websites focus on music, lollywood, fashion and food. But there's much more to our great country than that.

There are about 360 million websites on the world wide web today. From the informative to the weird, to the fascinating and the beautiful, there are all kinds of sites that provide not only information, but unique perspectives on issues as well.

You can do something for Pakistan by building a website that focuses on some aspect of the country that has not been covered before. Or, you can take an existing topic and give it a unique perspective.

You should use this project to highlight the beautiful and positive about Pakistan, since there is already plenty of negative material readily found on the internet and in the media.

Some keys to creating a good website include not only attractive web design, but also, informative, interesting and regularly updated material. Even if the articles and pictures you posted have are nice, visitors will not keep coming back to see the same thing. You need to keep adding stuff, whether it's photos, articles, diary excerpts, comments from visitors, etc.

Here are some ideas of topics you can produce a website about:

1. The beautiful scenery of Pakistan. Most of what we see about Pakistan in the media are slums and poverty. Why not focus on the lovely mountains of Muree, the well kept city of Islamabad or beautiful Clifton beach in Karachi? You don't just have to include information and photos about these tourist hotspots though. You should also look for pictures from your personal collection of photos, as well as your family's and friends', of places that are not visited as often. Compile information about these areas, such as their history, geography, environment, etc. and post this material on the site as well.

2. Children's health in Pakistan. If you know of different organizations that have programs providing health services to Pakistanis, highlight their work by providing photographs, written explanations of the work they are doing, and if possible, interviews with the field workers.

It would also be excellent if you could find statistics on children's health in Pakistan. Look for information like how many children have been immunized? What the most common illnesses are? How has the rate of a specific illness decreased in the last ten years?

You can make your website even more specific by picking one illness in Pakistan. For example, you can discuss the history of cancer in Pakistan, how it has affected Pakistanis, what kinds of cancer are prevalent and why, and what Pakistanis as well as the Pakistani government are doing about it. In addition, highlight the efforts of individuals who are trying to combat the disease.

3. Offer to build a website for a charitable organization to promote their work and elicit online donations.

If you work with an organization, you may have an easier time finding information, since most non-profits tend to have pre-prepared promotional material easily available. All you'd have to do is post it on the web.

But don't stop there. Try to make the site as useful to visitors as possible. Post statistics about the organization's programs. For example, if they have schools set up in a specific area in Pakistan, use statistics to show how many children graduated from the schools, how the rate of education was affected by the organization's presence and what impact it has had on local attitudes towards educating girls.

Include interviews with the people affected by the services as well as photos of the programs in action and the workers behind the organization. In addition, set up a secure online donation form so that web visitors from around the world can donate to support the group's work.

4. Share your family's history of migration. Why not document your family's immigration to Pakistan and the U.S. If your parents or grandparents were from among the migrants of 1947 who came from India to Pakistan, share their story on the web with photos and a fascinating recounting of their experience during independence. Explain why the family decided to migrate and what the journey was like.

Also, if you and your parents migrated to the United States from Pakistan, share your experience with that. What was it like for you as a young person moving to a completely different culture? What was it like for your parents, who underwent the second migration of their lives?

You can even post a map on your website tracking the route taken by your family during the two migrations, as well as photos from the voyages.

5. Focus on the flowers and plants of Pakistan. This is a fun project for all of you botanical buffs out there. But it does not just require taking pretty photographs of foliage and posting them on the site. If you really want to make the information useful, try your best to research the origin and nature of these flowers and plants, as well as what role they play in their environment. In addition, add some information about the cultural signficance of the flora, if relevant.

6. Children's games in Pakistan. While here in America, we may think hopscotch and tag are universal kids' games, there is a whole world of youngsters out there involved in other pursuits.

Get photographs of kids engaged in these Pakistani children's games and provide a step-by-step explanation of how they are played. Include information about where and how the game started and why it's become popular with kids.

This will prove to be a useful topic for a site not only for older Pakistanis who want to relive a passion of the past, but also for weary parents who have run out of ideas to entertain their energetic kids, especially in the summer.

7. Masjids of Pakistan. The Muslim world is renown for its beautiful architecture, especially of Masjids, and Pakistan is no exception to that.

Whether it's the Faisal Masjid in Islamabad or Badshahi mosque in Lahore, you can share this architectural legacy with millions of people on your website. Post photographs of these institutions but also research and write up something about their history, who constructed them, why and when they were built, their dimensions and special features, etc. Include contact information, like addresses and phone numbers for those who want to visit. If possible, find out what kinds of activities take place there besides prayer (i.e. religious classes, social services, etc).

8. Pakistani art. This includes calligraphy, rug and jewelry making. These are all arts that Pakistanis are experts at. Whether it's those gorgeous handmade rugs you find in expensive American furniture stores or the ornate gold jewelry of Pakistan, highlight these arts and crafts on a website.

Explain the history of the various types of art you are showing: how they started in the region, how much of the economy they currently make up, and include a profile of a couple of the artists behind the work. If possible, include the artists' contact information. Who knows, maybe some businessperson will express an interest and make him/herself a customer, so you're website will have helped local Pakistani business.

9. Military aircraft of Pakistan. Sleek, aerodynamic planes and jets are the passion of a number of people and you can take this hobby onto the web and give it a Pakistani twist. Include photographs of the aircraft, along with information about the materials they are built of and when they were used (i.e. which war, etc.). Provide a link to Pakistan's Air-Force Museum in Karachi which has similar photos at http://www.pafmuseum.com.pk/

10. Nutrition for Pakistanis. There is plenty of free information in the public domain about health and nutrition, produced mainly by the U.S. government. Why not take this information and make it applicable to Pakistanis?

Get together with a friend who is a dietician or nutritionist and, for example take the food pyramid and replace the American foods with Pakistani ones. This will serve as a guide for Pakistanis trying to eat more healthily. Also, post articles related to common illnesses in Pakistan like heart disease and diabetes.

Include plenty of diagrams and explanations. If possible post at least some of the information in Urdu. With this website, you'll reach Pakistanis in America and abroad and provide them with the necessary advice to be able to enjoy Pakistani food without compromising their health.

11. How to sew Pakistani clothes. If you've got a talent for making attractive Pakistaniwear, why not start a website teaching visitors how to sew Pakistani clothes. While many people today rely on tailors and seamstresses, there is still a certain pride and pleasure in sewing your own clothes.

On the website, provide online patterns and designs with step by step instructions on how to put together a shalwar kameez suit, for instance. Include photographs of the finished product.

12. A tourist's guide to one Pakistani city. If you know the ins and outs of Lahore very well, for example, put together an online tourist's guide to it. Include photos, impressions, experiences, some history of the places you visited, as well as their contact information so other tourists can visit too.

Provide a detailed itinerary of your stay. What did you do on day one? What monuments and sites did you see? Also include a section of travel advice for men and women coming from America. Here, you should discuss issues like how to dress in accordance with the weather and local culture, how to tip, how not to be ripped off, etc.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:49:11 PM

Readers' Comment

Beautiful Pakistan: 8/6/2005 6:51:49 AM
Its already done in the shape of BeautifulPakistan.com http://www.beautifulPakistan.com which has the largest database of images of Pakistan.

Asim: 8/15/2005 10:13:47 AM
Thats true, http://www.beautifulpakistan.com is simply one of the amazing site where you can go and see High Resolution Images of Pakistan. I vote 10/10 for this site.

M Jahangir: 10/13/2005 12:03:56 AM
Concept of making a web page about pakistan is fantastic, and a short cut to introducing our mother land. But every body cannot make a web page. Someone out there guide us how to make one. I am working on a feed back mission on national drinking water policy in pakistan through a google E-Group named drinking water- Pakistan. Through your site request our over seas friends to share their experiences and suggestions . http://groups.google.com.pk/group/drinking-water-pakistan Thanks M Jahangir TheNetwork Islamabad http://groups.google.com.pk/group/drinking-water-pakistan

nadia furqan: 5/6/2006 2:58:03 PM
Its a great idea, I can make the website, if soem one can provide me material

M Jahangir: 7/2/2006 3:24:11 PM
Thanks Nadia Furqan I will be only too glad to supply the information, if you can make the web site. Rgds M Jahangir

M Jahangir: 8/4/2006 1:01:56 PM
Dear nadia furqan kindly be in touch for making web site Rgds M Jahangir

Saleem Durrani: 8/23/2006 9:34:48 PM
WORLD Give Us HANDICAPPED Status/Quota STRANGE BUT TRUE : Anywhere in the world, where there is unrest, pain, terrorism, suffering, agony, problems or anything bad, Muslim/Mohammedan/Islam are always involved/the root cause. Now, I start to believe, what the once famous Nostradamus said in his prophecies “People (males) who have a tradition of cutting off a vital piece of their private part, will always be the root cause of chaos in this world. It will be them, who will ultimately cause the final destruction of planet earth, before they realise that a vital part of their brain also goes in the process of cutting of this piece of their private part” - Nostradamus : MCMXCVII I realised all this too late, when my younger son started showing terrorist signs at the age of 10 in school. He would everyday get into fights and later on the Psychologist said that this was the reason. So please stop this I beg you all, before it’s too late. If you have any queries/questions regarding this research, please email me at vigeos@tpg.com.au and I shall be most happy to show you the in-depth research papers, I have acquired. Which made me believe, who would never have believed this without seeing this research.

Mohammad salim khan: 9/9/2006 8:07:22 PM
Asalamualikum and have a very good morning. My name is Dr Mohammad salim khan from Dherai swat pakistan. Really fantastic. keep up the good work.

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