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Denmark top IT networked country

By Reuters
Frankfurt, 10 Apr 2008

Denmark is better placed than any other country to benefit economically from new information and communications technology, according to a survey published yesterday by the World Economic Forum.

In its annual global information technology report, the Switzerland-based organisation for a second year in a row ranked Denmark top of 127 countries it surveyed.

The WEF considered the business and regulatory environments in the countries it covered, the readiness of individuals, businesses and government to exploit opportunities and actual usage of the latest information and communications technology (ICT).

The annual survey aims to assess the impact of IT and telecoms on countries' development and competitiveness.

Seven of the top 10 in the WEF's so-called networked readiness index were European. The US was ranked fourth and Singapore fifth, with South Korea leaping to number nine from 19 last year, displacing Britain.

"The successful experience of the Nordic countries, Singapore, the US and Korea shows that a coherent government vision on the importance of ICT, coupled with an early focus on education and innovation, are key not only for spurring networked readiness, but also to lay the foundations for sustainable growth," said Irene Mia, a senior WEF economist and co-editor of the report.

The WEF said it used public data in compiling its report as well as conducting its own survey of executive opinion on institutional and business environment issues, in conjunction with leading research institutes and business organisations.

This year's survey was sponsored by Cisco, the world's biggest maker of Internet routers and switchers.

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