The competition, supported by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Korean Culture and Information Service and the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, is expected to be held annually with the increasing popularity of Korean pop music and culture throughout the world.

For China, the quest to develop advanced computing centers is not simply a matter of national pride. It is an attempt to lay the groundwork for innovative Chinese companies and to reshape the technological landscape by doing something more than assembling the world’s desktop PCs.

North West, one of the country's agricultural and mining powerhouses, was the latest province to host a Brand South Africa stakeholder summit. The event, held on 28 November 2011, showcased local poultry operation Opti Chicks and its innovative business model.

At 36-pages in length, the survey covers everything from the nation’s economy, society and transport to culture, architecture, agriculture, retail and urbanism..."The nation is a pioneer of sustainable energy and a world leader in architecture and urban planning..."

There's more to South Korea than K-Pop and Kim Yu-Na, and Lee Bae-Yong's mission in life is to stress that point worldwide.... [she] heads a unique body trying to burnish the image of a country which frets that its economic "hard power" far outweighs its "soft power" in the eyes of the global community.

In a survey expected to be released next week by London-based consulting firm Brand Finance, Canada gets high marks for the value and equity of its “brand.” And during tough economic times, stability has been a cornerstone of our success.

Brand strategist Peter Economides knows about taking brands at their lowest ebb and turning them into world-beaters. He was part of the team that helped create Apple’s “Think Different” campaign in 1997. ....Economides believes that Greece is at the point where an inspired and properly managed rebranding campaign could turn it into the “Apple of the Mediterranean.”

It being Hawaii, the assembled heads of state were understandably looking forward to some boxy aloha shirt action. But Obama...declared the 20-year tradition over. As disappointed locals have been keen to stress, the colourful shirts are a symbol of Hawaii's multicultural history and it would have been great for tourism on a group of islands that rely heavily on it.