ANN ARBOR—High school students participating in a simulation of the Arab-Israeli conflict are learning the complexities of national and international politics. The University of Michigan School of Education’s Interactive Communications and Simulations (ICS) program sponsors multi-week political and diplomatic character-playing exercises, which take place on the Web. Participating high school teams represent high-level, current and contemporary governmental and political figures. The Arab-Israeli Conflict / Middle East Simulation (AIC), one of several programs originating in 1975, encompasses 16 three-character teams. States and political organizations involved in the conflict are represented, including the United States and other United Nations Security Council members. Each participating school is assigned a pair of trained university mentors who, under the direction of the project directors, provide updates and team guidance. Students are enrolled in classes on government, current issues, social studies, journalism or the Arab-Israeli conflict. During the simulations, participants are involved in four activity types: discussing strategies and tactics with their teammates; sending and receiving private diplomatic messages; posting press releases visible to all teams; and submitting action forms, which represent physical events. Mentors moderate press releases and action forms. “ICS is about getting people from diverse backgrounds and experiences to talk about the things that matter most,” said Gary Weisserman, U-M School of Education professor and ICS director. “We use Internet technologies to accomplish those goals, but the social technology is where the real power lies.” Schools involved in the ICS program span the United States from Washington to Massachusetts. International participants include students in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. While most players are high school students, middle school and college students participate in the program as well. Further information about AIC and other ICS simulations is available at http://ics.soe.umich.edu/, or by contacting Gary Weisserman (gweiss@umich.edu), Jeff Kupperman (jkupp@umich.edu), or Edgar Taylor (taylor@ics.soe.umich.edu) at (734) 764-5547. To find out more about the U-M School of Education, visit http://www.soe.umich.edu/. or