With much of the country's media under the control of the state, bloggers have filled in the void -- often beating the traditional outlets to important stories on issues ranging from parking to high-level corruption. As online media's influence rises, it is also increasingly attracting the attention of the authorities.

...of course an important part of diplomacy is public diplomacy, so that is how our country internationally connects with ordinary people,” he said.... He noted there were lots of ways for the British government to connect with local citizens, but the most important way was online with the use of blogs and social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

It is the country of India that has the highest potential for soft power deployment in emerging markets, specifically in Africa for the following reasons...

The audience in Los Angeles was transported to a country of mythic history, great wisdom and oneness with nature, of Himalayan peaks, trundling oxcarts and the love story of the Taj Mahal.

New spheres of expression, long closed and forbidden to us, are now open. Reclaiming, defending and efficiently utilising these spaces to debate and promote our visions of the new Arab world will be our most immediate task.

"All public diplomacy is moving away from the idea of a single voice toward an emphasis on coalitions, especially cooperation with [nongovernmental organizations]," says Nicholas Cull, a fellow at the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.

On the whole, the story of American public diplomacy is largely missing from the Newseum. This absence presents a golden opportunity for the public diplomacy community to work with the Newseum to design an exhibit on public diplomacy.  

As the riots in London continued for a third night on Monday, Egyptian bloggers, watching events unfold on live television, debated the meaning of the violent confrontations between young people and the police, which reminded some of them of their own pitched battles on the streets of Cairo a few months ago.