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Internet, genetic revolutions

key to global future

DAVOS: Two overriding themes are already dominating a summit of the world's political and economic elite in the Swiss Alps this weekend: the Internet and genetic revolutions.

From the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in the ski report of Davos on Thursday, the epoch-making technological advances currently underway was setting the tone.

"We have to pay attention to two fundamental forces which will shape the coming years: the I, the Internet revolution, and the G, the genetic revolution," WEF founder Klaus Schwab said at the meeting's opening session.

The annual blue-chip get-together was to get into full swing on Friday with a visit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is due to take part in discussions on leadership in the 21st century.

The corridors and lobbies of the Davos meeting, entitled "New Beginnings: Making a Difference," are already buzzing with conversations about the new e-economy and online globalisation.

The general agreement among the assembled movers and shakers appears to be that, where the United States is leading, the rest of the world has to follow. And rapidly if it is not to be left behind definitively.

The key influence of the Internet on the world's economic prospects was underlined even before the Davos meeting got under full steam.

In a survey of global business chiefs, consultants Price water house Coopers warned the Internet risks widening the gap between the world's rich and poor, if politicians don't act to counter-balance the West's technological lead.

Half of those surveyed said they believed growth of the Internet would widen the gap between the haves and have-nots, while 38 percent disagreed, according to the survey released on Thursday.

"My own personal view is that over the long-term, if properly used, supported by governments and regulations, this should clearly be a vehicle that closes the gap between the haves and the have-nots," said Price water house Coopers' James Schiro.

The importance of advances in genetic technology is also central to much discussion in this chic Swiss ski resort.

The Davos meeting coincidentally comes as ministers from 46 countries arrived in Montreal, Canada, in a bid to finalise UN-sponsored global trade rules for bio-engineered goods.

Western negotiators have been trying to address the concerns of developing countries, who want strict protections against any possible risk that bio-engineered goods might pose to the environment or human health.

The Davos gathering bring together some 30 heads of state and government, scores of business chiefs and more than 1,000 business chiefs.

Anti-globalisation demonstrators have vowed to protest in this Alpine town on Saturday to coincide with Clinton's visit despite being refused permission to do so that day by the local Swiss authorities.

Swiss President Adolf Ogi insisted at the start of the Davos meeting that authorities would not allow protests to get out of control, as during the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in Seattle last month.ÑAFP