Anglo-Scandinavian lock on 'e-readiness', Economist survey.

EUROPEMEDIA-(C)2003 Van Dusseldorp & Partners - http://www.vandusseldorp.com/

After the dotcom crash, economic uncertainty has resulted in still further cuts to both private and public sector technology spending in the past year, according to the latest survey into 'e-readiness'

from the Economist Intelligence Unit.At the same time, the lead in e-readiness - defined as "the extent to which a market is conducive to internet-based opportunites," - has been taken by Scandinavian and northern European countries, while the position of the United States has slipped.

When the Unit performed its first such survey, in 2000, the US was at the top of the rankings; it has since slipped to third place, behind

Sweden and Denmark. There remains, however, an Anglo-Scandinavian/north Europe lock on the top spots, with such countries as Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, and English-speaking Canada, Australia and the UK filling other places in the top ten.

At the other end of the scale in the region, southern Europe remains a laggard in internet readiness, with Italy in twenty-first place, Portugal in twenty-second, and Spain in twenty-third.((Distributed via M2 Communications Ltd - http://www.m2.com))