  Recently, we have shown that for conditions under which the so-called
light-shift imbalance induced blockade (LSIIB) occurs, the collective
excitation of an ensemble of a multi-level atom can be treated as a closed two
level system. In this paper, we describe how such a system can be used as a
quantum bit (qubit) for quantum communication and quantum computing.
Specifically, we show how to realize a C-NOT gate using the collective qubit
and an easily accessible ring cavity, via an extension of the so-called
Pellizzari scheme. We also describe how multiple, small-scale quantum computers
realized using these qubits can be linked effectively for implementing a
quantum internet. We describe the details of the energy levels and transitions
in 87Rb atom that could be used for implementing these schemes.
