The Co-ordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has established the Virtual Laboratory (VL) for Training in Satellite Meteorology. The primary goal of the VL is to promote effective use of satellite meteorology in forecast offices throughout the WMO member countries. The WMO has noted the importance of the coordination and overseeing needed for the VL and suggested that the CGMS in partnership with the WMO form an International Satellite Data Utilization and Training Focus Group. A major function of the focus group will be to help foster the VL to realize the challenges set forth by the WMO Executive Council Panel on Education and Training and in support of the WMO Strategy for Education and Training in Satellite Matters.

The implementation plan for the VL calls for the following items to be addressed: 1) the resource library: its role, how it is structured, how training materials are "peer reviewed"; 2) the VISITview teletraining program: how it works, numbers of forecasters trained in USA, how it fits into the Virtual Laboratory construct; 3) expectations for the WMO Regional Meteorological Training Centers that are participating in the Virtual Laboratory especially in the area of how to help to help focus their training, and as an input to WMO; 4) coordination of WMO training activities leading to a schedule of "classes" for each year; 5) Virtual Laboratory participant roles and responsibilities; 6) archiving of training class presentations as a future training resource; 7) development of a web based training resource available for all WMO countries; and 8) how the VL should be managed. The presentation at the conference will give an update on the progress made in establishing the Virtual Laboratory for Training in Satellite Meteorology.