Abstract:

Most conversations and presentations about Web 2.0 have focused on Western examples, typically from the United States and Europe. Companies such as P&G, Lego, Albert Heijn, and Unilever tend to get most of the press, along with US-originated services such as Wikipedia, eBay, YouTube, FaceBook, and MySpace.However, this Western focus on Web 2.0 ignores the fact that the largest global internet footprint is that of Asia. As of late 2007, North America accounted for 19% of all internet users, Europe 27%, whilst Asia accounts for 37% of all internet users. Moreover, the growth in the number of internet users in Asia is much faster than Europe, and nearly three times as fast as North America!This paper seeks to shift the focus of the discussion away from the Western markets and to look at what is happening in the Asia Pacific region, and in particular with respect to Chinese language activity.