Resources for working worldwide

This week: International business

When looking for advice to take your business global, your best option is to start local. The Colorado Springs Office of International Affairs helps area businesses, whether new to international waters or veterans just trying to keep up with the latest information. Under the guidance of executive director George Boutin -- a former State Department official -- the OIA stages monthly seminars, networking sessions and a host of other programs.

www.coloradospringsinternational.org

Michigan State University's Center for International Business Education and Research provides a comprehensive starting point for global research. It is a meta-site with access to international business and trade information, economic trends and an index to resources.

globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ibrd.asp

What the Brint Institute site lacks in design touches, it more than compensates for with access to information -- organized by country -- on global business, communication, importexport, linguistic, legal, marketing, media, monetary, public affairs, research, technology, trade and travel.

www.brint.com/International.htm

The International Chamber of Commerce describes itself as "the world's only truly global business organization," with a footprint in more than 90 nations. The group's activities cover a broad spectrum, from arbitration and dispute resolution to making the case for open trade and the market economy system, business self- regulation, fighting corruption or combating commercial crime.

www.iccwbo.org

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency isn't just about national security and espionage any more. The online CIA Factbook contains a comprehensive database of economic, social and political profiles by country that can help anyone looking to expand into international business.

www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Euro Pages is a multilingual directory site of more than 700,000 companies in 35 European countries that is searchable by product, company name or business sector. It includes some company catalogs, and there are links to business services such as phone directories, package tracking, currency converters, measure converters, world bank holidays calendar, newspapers and online translators.

www.europages.com/homeen.html

A one-stop site for information and trade leads, the U.S. National Trade Data Bank (NTDB) has news, current exchange rates, market and country research, international trade statistics and current press releases. Of particular interest are the International Marketing Insight Reports, Country Commercial Guides and Country Background Notes.

www.stat-usa.gov/tradtest.nsf

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0126 or jim.bainbridge@gazette.com.

Looking for a local business online? The Gazette's Peak Links is an extensive Web directory of local companies' URLs. Find a business or submit your own. Go to ColoradoSprings.com and click on "PeakLinks."

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