THE Smurfs, the Little Mermaid, Bollywood stars, tenor Andrea Bocelli and the acrobats of Cirque du Soleil are part of a colourful diplomatic offensive to win Chinese hearts at this year's World Expo.

World fairs are a good laboratory for experimenting with architecture and the upcoming expo in China is no exception. Thanks to computer-aided design, pavilions that resemble giant dandelions and baskets are fabulous buildings that 'look like they can't be built.'

Canada has a rapidly growing cadre of 'combat diplomats' and none of them has more experience in the danger zones than Ben Rowswell.

Veteran Canadian diplomat Daryl Copeland has been on the ramparts of diplomatic studies for several years now, advocating a kind of diplomacy he calls Guerrilla Diplomacy. Last week, at the International Studies Association convention in New Orleans, a panel of expert academics reviewed Copeland’s thesis and generally applauded his ideas.