Just like PartnerShip and Customer RelationShip � EntrepreneurShip is one of the 3 vital elements in the business development agenda for Small and Medium sized enterprises. As SME's still constitute the overwhelming majority of all companies � both in Europe and USA, they are the driving force in the knowledge-based economy with positive innovative thoughts, creating initiatives and implementing state-of-the-art technology solutions to mission critical business problems. In today's technology focused world they need to look international to secure a continuing presence and to continue to push for new market opportunities � especially in the new Europe.

Effectiveness, efficiency and interoperability are the three most important cornerstones in the development of successful information systems. In this article, the author looks at the way in which the IT standards landscape in Estonia has changed, considering ways in which standardisation can support interoperability.

eTEN is the European Union programme which is designed to accelerate the deployment of public services with a trans-European dimension (with the involvement of at least two EU member states, or contributing to the trans-European dimension) in the area of the Information Society, and particularly in the field of E-services. The eTEN programme does not fund research and development, nor does it fund infrastructure.

These days, national economies are powered by ideas and knowledge, not by material resources.

The organiser and host of the conference is the State Language Commission of the Presidential Chancellery of Latvia. Partners in the organising of the conference include the Latvian Information Technology and Telecommunications Association (LITTA), Data Media Group and Tilde.

In terms of politics in Latvia, 2003 was unquestionably the year of the �new era� (New Era is the name of the party which led the government until resigning in February 2004), and so if we look at the way in which information technology-related events were linked to the processes of the state, it is very important to understand the extent to which the �new era� affected this sector.

The ICT Unit of the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies - Directorate General Joint Research Centre of the European Commission initiated a research project in 2003 which was aimed at analysing trends in the development of ICT manufacturing and software industries in certain EU candidate countries and then to elaborate various policy recommendations. This paper provides an overview of the situation in Estonia. For a full version of the report [1], please see www.praxis.ee.

One of the goals in setting up the Latvian Information Systems (IS) Cluster has been to find new export markets while increasing the competitiveness of the Latvian information technologies sector in the rest of the world. The cluster brings together export-oriented IT companies, as well as enterprises that can offer global services. The latest research data about the results that have been posted by the export-oriented companies in the IS cluster show that the goals which were first set out are successfully being reached, and export indicators have been increasing on a yearly basis.

On September 22 and 23 of this year, the fifth Baltic Sea Region Communications Forum took place in Riga, Latvia. The honorary chairman of the event was the Minister of Transport of Latvia, Roberts Zile.

Today, more than ever before, it is important to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, between urban and rural societies in the world. Over the last several years, the first steps have been taken toward resolving problems of inequality in the use of information technologies.