"The program has broadened its public education mandate and we want to expose as many Islanders as possible to the programs and services that may affect them," said Ann Stanley, Producer. "This new medium will give us the opportunity to reach a wider audience in PEI and beyond."

Three segments from the new season are already available for viewing on the Internet site — A Look at Y2K; Mental Illness; and How to Check Your Residential Oil Tank. In addition to being able to view segments, the site also features information on each week's line-up; biographies about the on-air personalities; a list of past shows; and a trivia contest where viewers of the show have the opportunity to win an Island Focus travel mug.

Island Focus airs on a different day at a new time this season — Wednesdays at 8:00 pm. This week the program will feature stories on PEI's Immunization Program; 911 Civic Addressing; A Day in the Life of an Oyster Fisherman; Communications/IT Mentoring Program; PEI's IT Strategy; Quality, Pride in Service; and Timeless Technologies.

This year's host is Gerry Birt who returns after a one year absence and Whit Carter is back as News Anchor. The program was the winner of the 1997 Galaxi Award for Excellence in Programming and was a national award nomination for two years in a row (1998,1999) for best community cable program at the Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival.