Business 2.0 Publishes Its Choices for the Best Business Ideas in the World 2006; Third Annual Roundup of Global Business Ideas That Can Be Applied in the U.S. Marketplace

Business Wire, July 26, 2006

NEW YORK -- Business 2.0 magazine has dedicated its August issue to the third annual "Best Business Ideas in the World," featuring 31 ideas from every corner of the globe that can be applied to the U.S. business market. For this special issue, Business 2.0's team of editors and writers scoured the globe for the most intriguing new business strategies that can work anywhere--like turning your shortcomings into a killer product idea or using guerrilla tactics to launch a company. The 31 business ideas appear throughout the issue, accompanying articles that show the ideas in action.

Highlighting Business 2.0's global reporting efforts, the issue gives readers insight into the latest business innovations from around the world, from a Korean company's plans to take on MySpace to Richard Branson's search for a new green superfuel to a map of the latest wave of Web 2.0 companies to launch.

Stories from the August 2006 special global issue of Business 2.0 include:

"Cyworld Attacks," by Erick Schonfeld. Cyworld is South Korea's most popular social network, a strange blend of Blogger, Flickr, and videogame-like avatars. There are 18 million Cyworld members, or more than a third of the country's entire population. With 90 percent of all Koreans in their 20s having signed up, Cyworld's per capita penetration in South Korea is greater than that of MySpace in the United States. The bulk of the site's revenue comes from the sale of virtual items worth nearly $300,000 a day, or more than $7 per user per year. By comparison, ad-heavy MySpace makes an estimated $2.17 per user per year. The battle between Cyworld and MySpace is about to begin, as Cyworld is launching a U.S. version in August. "There are many social-networking services in the U.S.," says Hyun Oh Yoo, CEO of SK Communications, Cyworld's parent company. "But their quality is not as high as Cyworld." -- Page 84

"Planet Startup," by Michael V. Copeland, Paul Kaihla, and Paul Sloan. International borders used to be the biggest barrier to entry for Americans interested in starting a business overseas. But today, as more nations ease trade regulations and restrictions on foreign investment, borders are more like invitations. Meanwhile, American investment in overseas businesses has nearly doubled, too, since 2002. Business 2.0 features a dozen stories that describe lucrative ventures in unlikely places--from starting a coffee business in Rwanda to discovering the next great cabernet in Greece. There are also opportunities in Brazil (delivering Wi-Fi to coastal resorts), China (remodeling homes), and Russia (creating a social network for millionaires). The goal wasn't just to show where the latest business trends are converging, but to coax more armchair entrepreneurs into action. -- Page 72

"Extra Virgin," by Carleen Hawn. Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, has business interests on six continents, including airlines, express trains, and limousine services, so his company's contribution to global warming worries him. Branson tells Business 2.0, "I used to be skeptical of global warming, but now I'm absolutely convinced that the world is spiraling out of control. Because Virgin is involved with planes and trains, we have even more responsibility. Over the next four years, we'll invest something like $1 billion in alternative fuels. The money is going into a whole series of different things like building ethanol plants. We're looking into wind power. We're looking into solar. And we're also actually working on developing a new kind of fuel, which I can't say much about but which is quite exciting." Even so, Branson adds, "It will be called Virgin Fuel, yes! It's not ethanol-based as such, but it'll be a clean fuel." Branson's key breakthrough: Unlike other biofuels, he says Virgin Fuel could work in airplanes. -- Page 91

"Tower of Power," by Todd Woody. Picture a 260-foot-diameter cylinder taller than the Sears Tower encircled by a two-mile-diameter transparent canopy at ground level. About 8 feet tall at the perimeter, the solar collector will gradually slope up to a height of 50 to 60 feet at the tower's base. Roger Davey, chief executive of Melbourne renewable-energy company EnviroMission, aims to break ground in the Australian outback early next year on the world's first commercial "solar tower" power station. The result: enough clean, green electricity to power some 100,000 homes without producing a particle of pollution or a wisp of planet-warming gases. -- Page 94

"Four Futures for China Inc.," by Doug Randall and Jesse Goldhammer. Investing in the world's largest emerging economy is risky business. Sure, China's GDP has more than doubled since 2000, and VCs report eye-popping ROI from Chinese investments. But with the ever-present threats of corruption, environmental crisis, and social turmoil, how long can that winning streak last? Business 2.0 asked Global Business Network, a San Francisco consultancy, to provide four scenarios for the future of China. So Beijing may continue to be a rising economic power and resolve disputes peacefully (scenario 1), but it's just as likely to grow slowly and stop playing by international rules (scenario 3). While Business 2.0 lists them in order from least disruptive to most disruptive, businesses needs to be equally prepared for each of these possible outcomes. -- Page 34