Some 12 years ago, it was unthinkable to have Internet cafes in Afghanistan. But today, Kabul, and some other cities and towns in the country, have Internet shops where Afghans, especially students, can surf and look for the information that they need.

"I go the Internet cafe usually twice a week to gather information about Afghanistan's contemporary history as well as on other topics, such as World War II and about Adolf Hitler," Mohammad Omar, a Kabul University student, said.

Although there is a public library in Kabul, the vast majority of students prefer to go to Internet shops where they can get the necessary information through search engines without any hassle.

Despite being a conservative country where tribalism is deeply rooted, Afghanistan has no recourse but to move towards modernization and join the computer age otherwise it will be left behind.

Even in Kandahar, once the bailiwick of the Taliban, there are universities, schools and Internet shops that are open to both men and women.

During the six-year Taliban rule, which collapsed after the invasion of the country by the U.S.-led military coalition in late 2001, the Internet was banned, schools for girls were closed, and men were forced to wear turban, sport beard and study theology.

The Taliban also confined women to their houses and forced them to wear burqa whenever they come out of their houses. They were not allowed to walk in the streets without male escorts.

Today, according to officials, nearly two million Afghans have access to the Internet. Around 22 million Afghans, or some 72 percent of the country's population, have now access to phone services, a tremendous achievement that would be unthinkable decade ago.

Now parents, even in rural areas, are sending their daughters to school, a practice that was taboo during the brutal reign of the Taliban.

"I want my daughters to become doctors and serve the patients particularly the female ones," Abdul Qadir, a villager in Baghlan province, said during a recent interview with Xinhua.

A farmer, Qadir, 41, said that he wants his three daughters to continue their studies until they become doctors, adding that by being medical practitioners, his daughters can best serve their fellow Afghans, particularly the poor.

Aside from dreaming big dreams, there is now a perceptible change in lifestyle and standard of living in Afghanistan, not just in Kabul but also in the countryside.

Some villagers who have adequate incomes have now abandoned their traditional mud houses but built concrete houses.

Afghans today, even in the remote areas, listen to music, watch television and enjoy European and Asian channels with the use of satellite disks, something that they could not have enjoyed just a decade ago under the Taliban.

Some villagers, when they come to Kabul to study, often abandon the turban that their fathers wear. They now wear plain clothes replacing the traditional pirahan-tonban.

Even the traditional burqa, an envelope-like dress worn by Afghan women is also being gradually replaced by Iranian or Arabic hijab or veil that only partially covers the woman's face.

"We are young people and living in modern world, so it is unnecessary for us to wear heavy turban and carry a gun," a college student from the southern Helmand province, Ziarat Gul, told Xinhua.

In the rural areas, it is customary for a man to carry a gun. This is a part of their culture.