One of the main concerning regarding public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment is related with the fact that the documentation provided to consultation is widely technical and extensive, or, as it is the case of the Non Technical Abstracts, maintained in a low level of technicity.

So, the need for tools that allow public to consult and understand the content of the Studies is urgent and socially desirable. One of the tools lately most widely referred as important in this framework are based in the increasing use of new technologies, resorting to Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC).

The supporters of such an approach argue with the fact that CMC and Information Technologies are becoming more easy to use and more popular. In this sense the development of tools using this technologies are widely considered as a good solution to provide accurate information to public. Thus, the fact that Internet and CD Rom are becoming so popular offer a good opportunity to join public information with public participation, allowing the use of potential new forms of democratic participation.

Based in our own experience in the framework of Environmental Impact Assessment and correlate public discussions, we are not so sure about the fact that, in the present context, the referred above is completely true. Not questioning the fact that CMC and Information Technologies are becoming more popular some doubts are expressed in the role assumed by those tools in increasing public participation.

So, in this paper we argue that in order to increase public participation an integrated approach is need, providing public not only with basic information concerning investments subject to environmental impact assessment, but also with tools that put information in an easy way, perfectly understandable to general public and not only for experts. Above all, we do perfectly agree with the fact that the increasing of public participation is needed.

To develop our thesis we will call not only our own experience but also to some theoretical works carried out in the framework of Sociological Theory, such as the works of Bourdieu, Habermas and Katz, particularly in the discussion of public participation and public opinions (or, as we will argue "Public Opinions"). But basically we must clarify the fact that CMC, being a tool, is also a constructed environment (Lawley, 1994), and in this framework subject to a sociological approach.

So, the integrated approach presented and discussed in the paper is based in four main steps:

1. The need for Public Communication, based in Local and National Press, identifying the main targets and the best communication strategies;
2. Development of an Information System for the Scientific Community and Environmental Associations, providing them accurate information concerning the Investments and the Environmental Impacts detected;
3. A Communication strategy specially developed to local agents (in the framework of a two-step flow in communication), providing them the information referred above, in an easy and non-technical language;
4. Integration of information in a multimedia format, especially adequate to public and using friendly users tools.