Google Inc. has signed deals to supply software to students and government workers in two East African nations, in a bid to put them on the technical footing of more developed countries.

The Web search leader said on Monday it had agreed to separate partnerships with the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure and the Kenya Education Network (KENET), which represents students and staff at 32 universities in Kenya.

Under the deals to supply Google Apps software, students in both African countries along with Rwandan government officials will have access to free communications tools including e-mail, shared calendars, instant messaging and word processing.

Last year, Mountain View, California-based Google entered the business software market with a basic set of free programs delivered over the Web. It then began offering last month a subscription service to companies who pay for extra features and technical support.