The State Department has dispatched a high-level diplomatic and trade mission to Syria, according to senior U.S. officials, marking the latest bid by the Obama administration to woo President Bashar al-Assad away from his strategic alliance with Iran. The U.S. delegation comprises senior executives from some of America's top technology companies...

The European Union and Russia have agreed to increase their co-operation in the areas of science and cutting-edge technology, during a summit that sought common ground for the next G20 meeting.

Shanghai-based English-learning software maker Saybot, Inc...commands a workforce of 100 engineers, product developers and salespeople who create interactive learning software that’s used by more than 180 million students in China. Earlier this year, the company also launched a new web-based English-learning environment for kids called Alo7 in China, the country home to the most internet users in the world.

Peter Winter also provided research support for this report.

Technology is running amok, trampling public diplomacy efforts for almost everyone.

Because of its misuse by most, Satellite TV technology is worsening, rather than aiding efforts to communicate with publics abroad. The ease by which TV satellites can be accessed to distribute signals to practically anywhere, has caused professional communicators to become lazy, and to run their efforts on autopilot.

The trashing of public diplomacy is not really the fault of technology. It is the fault of those who abuse the tool, and who are dazzled to distraction by it.

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The rapid diffusion of decentralized communications technologies is becoming a critical component in the operation and organization of terrorist networks. While security-based concerns regarding the use of the Internet for cyber-terrorism (disruption of critical networks, etc) have somewhat subsided, there is growing recognition that both the Internet’s mass media function and its decentralized infrastructure play a crucial role in modern terrorist organizations.