The sites listed below were chosen for their utility in providing accurate narrative (either brief or extensive) information as well as directories and more extensive portal pages concerning all aspects of Afghan life and culture. Even before the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent military action and changes of regime in Afghanistan, links to sites in that country were and often remain inactive. We recommend that you try again if you are not successful in connecting. Other sites which were active but have ceased since September 11, e.g., that to the Taliban regime, have been retained for archival purposes. A significant number of sites listed were created by various Afghan expatriate groups scattered around the globe; these are often more readily accessible.

For archives of electronic and other news reports on Afghanistan since September 11, see the joint collaboration between the Library of Congress, the Internet Archive, and http://web.Archivist.org, http://september11.archive.org, the September 11 2001 News Archives http://www.september11news.com, and The Television Archive http://www.televisionarchive.org.

For Library of Congress contact information and materials, consult the Afghanistan Country page http://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/nes/cty/caf/cafhome.html The Library of Congress Online Catalog http://catalog.loc.gov/ and a newly-mounted portal page on International Terrorism http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/hispanic/terrorism/terrorism.html. To track bills and other Congressional materials having to do with the topic consult the Library's Thomas Legislative Information page http://thomas.loc.gov.

About Afghanistan (http://www.AboutAfghanistan.com/)
Extensive portal page listing addresses of sites in English, French, German, and various Afghan and other languages.

Academic Info. Afghanistan Studies. Directory of Online Resources for the Study of Afghanistan (http://www.academicinfo.net/afghan.html)
Information page with a wealth of electronic resources by area. Online resource with sections ranging from: digital library, general links, Afghan news and media, organizations, women, the Taliban, and Al-Qaeda.

Afghanistan Information Center (http://afg-info.com/)
Afghan Info is a comprehensive search engine on all things relating to Afghanistan.

Afghana! (http://www.afghana.com)
Afghan Web directory with links to news, government, law, health, society, entertainment, etc.

Afghanistan and the Aftermath of September 11 (http://asnic.utexas.edu/asnic/cas/cas%20site/pages/afghan.html)
From the Center for Asian Studies, Department of Asian Studies, University of Texas. Selected list of print and Web resources on Afghanistan. Links to subjects such as people, history, and politics; the history and culture of the Islamic world, and classroom resources for all levels.

Afghanistan Government (http://www.afghangovernment.com)
Data on the transitional Afghan government, historical information, texts of the various constitutions of Afghanistan, links to government ministries, World Bank activities in the country, as well as links to other useful sites.

Afghanistan Online (http:/www.afghan-web.com/index.html)
Privately owned, independent Web site provides extensive news and information on Afghanistan, featuring economy, culture, geography, languages, history, politics, sports, plants, animals, and weather forecasts. Originally known as the Qazi Webpage on Afghanistan, the title was changed to Afghanistan Online and launched on May 14, 1997.

Afghanistan's Web Site (http://www.afghanistans.com/Information/defaulf.htm)
One of the most visited Afghan sites on the Internet with multiple servers in the East and West coasts of the United States. Especially recommended for its general resources and statistical information on Afghanistan.

Afghanmania (http://www.afghanmania.com/)
Afghanmania website contains general information and provides updates on all things relating to Afghanistan.

AfghanOnline. Afghan Online Links (http://www.afghanonline.com/links.html)
List of Afghanistan-related links from A to Z.

Asia Source (http://www.google.com/u/asiasource?q=afghanistan&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&sa=Submit)
Wide variety of links from the Asia Society.

Central Statistics Office (http://www.aims.org.af/cso/)
Afghanistan’s central government organization responsible for collecting and disseminating official statistics. Links to data sets and the census.

Columbia University: Middle East and Jewish Studies
(http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/mideast/cuvlm/Afghanistan.html)
Documents, Web sites, and additional information about Afghanistan gathered by Columbia University Libraries.

Encyclopedia Britannica: Afghanistan (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9106010)
General information on Afghanistan.

Eurasianet (http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/afghanistan/index.shtml)
Operated by the New York-based Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute, EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. Includes information and analysis about political, economic, environmental, and social developments, newsmaker interviews, book reviews, a regional datebook, and links to resources on human rights, the local press, and arts and culture.

Flags of the World: Afghanistan (http://www.fotw.net/flags/af.html)
Information on various Afghan flags.

Governments on the WWW: Afghanistan (http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/af.html)
Links to sites providing general and political information on Afghanistan, political parties, travel, languages, and human rights.

Information Please: Afghanistan (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107264.html)
Brief history and information about government, geography, infrastructure, and economy, etc. Links to other Infoplease data including Afghan leaders, places, people, religion, and a Taliban timeline.

Middle East Network Information Center. Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin: Afghanistan (http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/Countries_and_Regions/Afghanistan/)
Links and discussions on all aspects of Afghan history, politics, culture, and society.

Portal to Asian Internet Resources (PAIR). University of Wisconsin-Madison. (http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/PAIR/atlas.html)
Select country by scrolling over map. Search by country for information on a variety of topics.

The Times of Central Asia (http://www.timesca.com/country_guide/Afghanistan/)
Published in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and launched in 1999, TCA is the only English-language site offering extended and constantly updated news coverage of the five Central Asian republics. Includes a special section on Afghanistan as well as news monitored from Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook: Afghanistan (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html)
General information and statistics about Afghanistan, with the following subdivisions: introduction, geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues.

U.S. Department of State (http://state.gov/)and (http://state.gov/countries)
Numerous documents concerning diplomatic and international relations, travel advice, and warnings. Search by country.

U.S. Department of State. Background Notes (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn)
Facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty. Click on country link.

U.S. Library of Congress. Federal Research Division. Afghanistan: a country study (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/aftoc.html)
The Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress published in 2001 an extensive handbook entitled Afghanistan: a country study. The text and selected graphics of the 226-page work are available in an electronic format on the FRD Web site. The reader can search for words or variants of search words, within one country study or across multiple studies. The country study can be downloaded, one section at a time, and saved as an html or txt file. (No revised editions are planned at present.)

U.S. Library of Congress. Federal Research Division. Country Profile: Afghanistan (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf)
Reference guide offering brief, summarized information on Afghanistan’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security.

Virtual Afghans (http://www.virtualafghans.com/)
Virtual Afghans contains general information about Afghanistan and is used by Afghan Diaspora to keep connected to cultural and social developments by Afghans around the world.

Watan Afghanistan (http://www.afghanan.net/)
Watan Afghanistan website contains general information provides updates on all things relating to Afghanistan.

The WWW Virtual Library (http://www.vlib.org)
Search by country or topic.

Yahoo! Afghanistan (http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Afghanistan/)
A general portal for Afghanistan sites arranged by subject. The number of Web sites in the directory is listed next to each category.