MSIA TOP AMONG DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN CONNECTIVITY SCORECARD 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysia scored the highest for deployment and usage of information communication technology (ICT) among 25 resource and efficiency-driven countries in the Nokia Siemens Network's Connectivity Scorecard 2010.

It led the group for the third consecutive year.

The Connectivity Scorecard is a global ICT index, an annual study which
ranks countries not only on their deployment of ICT infrastructure but also
measures the extent to which governments, businesses and consumers make use of
useful connectivity technologies to enhance social and economic prosperity.

"Malaysia topped the group of resource driven economies with a score of 7.14
ahead of South Africa (6.18), Chile (6.06), Argentina (5.9) and Russia (5.82),
which made up the rest of the top five," Nokia Siemens Networks said in a
statement Friday.

Malaysia also came ahead of its Asean neighbours such as Thailand and
Indonesia, with the exception of Singapore which came under the grouping of
innovation driven economies.

Countries are divided into two groups — developed innovation driven
economies and the less developed resource driven economies.

Already in its third year, the Connectivity Scorecard for the first time
also showed a change in leadership among the innovation-driven economies, with
the United States losing its number one ranking to Sweden.

Sweden led the group of innovation driven economies with a score of 7.95,
ahead of the US (7.77), Norway (7.74), Denmark (7.54) and the Netherlands
(7.52).

Economic recovery and government stimulus packages aimed at boosting
broadband deployment and ICT development should provide room for optimism in the
coming year.

--BERNAMA