William Dutton, currently Professor at The Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California (USC), will be the first Director of the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). He takes up this new role on 1 July this year when he also becomes Oxford's first Professor of Internet Studies and a Fellow of Balliol College. Professor Dutton said: 'I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to lead and shape the Oxford Internet Institute, as it launches its ambitious and vitally important programme to increase our understanding of the way that new media influence our lives. The scale of the transformations that digital communications are enabling in every aspect of society is massive - and I believe that the work of the OII will help to ensure that we can all gain the maximum benefits from those changes over the years ahead.' For the full press release, please visit: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/OIIDirector.rtf