Asia's largest emerging economies -- India and China -- have moved down on the Global Information Technology Report (GITR) 2006-2007's "Networked Readiness Index". India was four positions down to 44 and China nine down to 59.

Notwithstanding some specific clusters of information and communications technology (ICT) excellence in both countries, their overall performance in leveraging ICT for increased development appears particularly hindered by weak infrastructure, with a very low level of individual ICT usage for India and of individual and business readiness and usage for China, according to the report.

Pakistan (84) was 17 positions down from last year's 67. On the other hand, other countries from Asia and the Pacific region continued to do well this year, with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and Korea occupying 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19th positions, respectively, although Taiwan and Korea lost some ground from last year.

For the first time, Denmark has ousted the US to top the GITR rankings. The GITR attributes Denmark's outstanding levels of networked readiness to "the country's excellent regulatory environment, coupled with a clear governmental leadership and vision in leveraging ICT technologies for growth."

The US was down to the 7th position, "mainly due to relative deterioration of the political and regulatory environment." Singapore moved one place down to the third position this year.

The World Economic Forum (WEF), jointly with INSEAD since 2002, has produced the GITR since 2001, assessing the progress of networked readiness in over 100 economies (this year, it was 122) and providing an authoritative instrument for facilitating public-private dialogue, according to Prof Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF.

Each year, the GITR (sponsored by Cisco) selects a few issues that have with a particular relevance for countries' networked readiness.

However, the country maintains its primacy in innovation, driven by one of the world's best tertiary education systems and its high degree of cooperation with the industry as well as by the extremely efficient market environment displayed, states the report.

Singapore's ICT excellence is built on the country's excellent regulatory and business environment, on the government's early focus on the adoption and diffusion of the latest technologies, and on ICT penetration and its ability to involve the private sector in a common strategy and vision for ICT readiness.

This year, it has looked closely at four special areas: networks and changes in every day life; generation networks in telecommunications; cities' e-government and global competition; and filtered Internet and the moral dilemma for multinational corporations.