A bogus league table

How tiresome: yet another survey saying the US has lost its high-tech lead. The World Economic Forum, the group of middle-aged German factory bosses who play global elite for the week in Davos, says the US has fallen to seventh place in technological readiness. The WEF — which went internet crazy a few months before the last crash and gaga for Second Life this winter — says that the country with the best regulations and integration of technology in business is, um, Denmark. Yes, the same tiny country which just launched an institute for "user-generated" innovation, because of the poor record of its corporate sector. Let's get something clear: often the countries with the best government policies, and the most fabulously of-the-moment state-supported institutes, are the ones that need them the most.

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