Three roles have been used to describe the relation of computers to the architectural design process - assistant, tool and media. Electronic data exchange over wide area networks raises the importance of the media role. The rapid development of telecommunications demand that students of engineering and architectural professions get acquainted with technology that is being made available. The paper will introduce the possibilities that are provided by the electronic networks for collaboration, information search and retrieval - not only in the scope of research but for the purposes of curricula as well. It will introduce value added networks, analyze possibilities for engineers and architects, enumerate inexpensive or free tools that can be used to enter the electronic village and describe an information server that can disseminate local knowledge to the network community.