Country code: 993. Area code for Ashgabat: 12.

Roaming agreements exist with some international mobile phone companies. Coverage is limited to Ashgabat.

All Internet cafes were closed by the government. The state strictly controls Internet access.

Letters to Western Europe and the USA can take between two weeks and two months. Stamped envelopes can be bought from post offices. Mail addresses should be laid out in the following order: country, postcode, city, street, house number and lastly the person's name.

Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1800. The main Post Office in Ashgabat is open until 1900.

Turkmenistan has an incredibly poor record when it comes to press freedom. Reporters Without Frontiers has said the president uses the media solely to 'promote his own glory'. The Turkmen government controls all media, monitoring media outlets, operating printing presses and laying down editorial policies. Programmes from Russian TV stations are censored. The government controls Internet access, banning or censoring what it considers inappropriate sites and restricting use.

• The main newspapers in Ashgabat are Turkmenistan and Vatan (both in Turkmen) and Neitralnyi Turkmenistan (Russian).

• State-owned Turkmen TV operates four channels.

• Two stations are operated by state-owned Turkmen radio.