Heidi Wastweet is a Seattle sculptor and medallic artist, but one of her passions is to design money — coins, specifically...and now she gets to design the future of the United States' coins. Coins may be viewed as chump change, says Wastweet, but the image on a penny, nickel or quarter can influence the way we and the world view America.

The popularity of Turkish television series, from the Balkans to the Middle East, has brought Turkey to an international audience, and is subtly transforming the image of the country abroad.

When outsiders think about South Asia, they typically picture a region that’s wracked by violent religious extremism, a place where groups like the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba are active and deadly. Then there’s the image of clandestine nuclear proliferation...

"..industry should focus on promoting independent innovation and core competence to grapple with increasingly stiff challenges," Zhang said. He further suggested that sectors such as the auto industry...should enhance soft power to build brand names and compete in the overseas market.

Despite only being 64 years old, and constantly in a state of political turmoil, Israel is fast becoming known in technology circles, as the world’s second Silicon Valley and as a ‘start up nation’. This prowess in technology has resulted in leaders and high profile figures from around the world to make regular visits to the small embattled state to see the start up nation in action.

Yao Ming is one of the few Chinese faces recognized by American audiences," said Brook Larmer, author of "Operation Yao Ming: The Chinese Sports Empire, American Big Business, and the Making of an NBA Superstar." "As much as we scoff at sports as just a game, for China it's a crucial part of its soft power diplomacy.

“As a country needs more top-class athletes in the Olympic Games to promote sports, we need more top-class economic players to make a name for themselves in the world and improve our technology. This is something that we have done well and will continue to do so,” she added.

Paris – the city of love and irrepressibly haughty waitstaff – still has that je ne sais quoi, according to the report, released this week, which measures the the image of 50 cities with respect to presence, place and people, as well as more nebulous characteristics such as pulse and potential.