By Jim Bodor

NORTHBORO- Hundreds of Chinese students are using online learning technology developed by two Northboro companies to continue their studies without exposing themselves to the SARS virus.

Three years ago the companies, The Boston Group and IntraLearn Software Corp., launched a program called IntraLearn Asia to offer online classes to the 10,000 students at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, one of China's largest business universities.

The technology garnered moderate attention from students during 2001 and 2002. This year, with Chinese students and officials fearful of spreading severe acute respiratory syndrome in classrooms, demand for online classes using Intralearn Asia has spiked dramatically, said Kashif I. Rana, vice president of business development for The Boston Group. Mr. Rana is in charge of the company's online learning division serving China, Singapore, Malaysia and India.

Now more than 2,000 students at the University of International Business and Economics are taking online classes, with more signing up daily, according to The Boston Group.

"People want to do things electronically rather than face-to-face," Mr. Rana said. "They want to avoid public places, and the last thing they want to do is show up in a classroom with 50 people."

The Chinese government is urging even more students to take lessons online. In April the Chinese Education Ministry called an emergency meeting, and Education Minister Zhou Ji asked students to use online learning to continue their educations while preventing the spread of SARS, according to Boston Group employees based in China.

For students who have already contracted the disease, online learning is the best way to ensure that they do not fall behind in their studies, said Ronak V. Desai, vice president of sales and marketing for The Boston Group.

"For students who are quarantined, this is the only mode of continuing their education," he said. "The only way to do it is through electronic learning. Education has to go on. This provides an alternative."

In Singapore, the two companies' online learning technology is being used in a different way to help control the SARS crisis. The Singapore Tourism Board and the Tourism Management Institute of Singapore both use The Boston Group's online learning platform to offer certification and lessons to travel agents working in Singapore.

The Singapore government recently announced that it will give grants to travel agents for additional training in how to reassure the traveling public that Singapore is safe in spite of SARS.

Singapore, for instance, screens every visitor to its airport using a device that detects whether someone has an elevated temperature, Mr. Desai said. People who register such a temperature are removed from the stream of travelers and offered medical treatment before they can enter, he said. Both Mr. Desai and Mr. Rana are frequent travelers to Singapore.

"It's very important for the Singapore government to boost people's confidence," Mr. Rana said. "They are using this to educate the rest of the world that they are taking steps to prevent the spread of SARS."

Spreading such information is particularly important to Singapore's and the world's economy. Dozens of multinational companies maintain headquarters in Singapore, and it is the world's busiest port, according to the International Association of Ports & Harbors.

Travel agents play a key role in relaying to the world that it is safe to travel in Singapore, Mr. Rana said. "Singapore is a key meeting point for everyone who does business in that part of the world," he said.

Travel agents play a key role in relaying to the world that it is safe to travel in Singapore, Mr. Rana said. "Singapore is a key meeting point for everyone who does business in that part of the world," he said.

IntraLearn was founded in 1994, and has sold its e-learning products to more than 550 companies.