What's so special about Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is an international financial hub: most of the world's biggest banks have a presence in a city that has been described as the most economically free in the world - both during its years as a British colony and after the Chinese handover in 1997.
Certainly a lot of money is made and traded in Hong Kong. And nothing oils the wheels of tech like truckloads of cash.
Since handover, the Chinese government has gone to a lot of trouble to propel the city into the internet age - publishing a digital strategy every three years since 1998 setting out plans for comms infrastructure, ecommerce, e-government and more.
These days Hong Kong has one of the highest broadband penetrations in the world and mobile phone penetration exceeds 100 per cent, as hotspot judge Eileen Yu notes.
One example of how technology has been successfully integrated into the city's infrastructure is the Octopus contactless card that has been up and running for more than a decade, enabling residents to ditch cash when paying for public transport and goods from shops, vending machines, cafés and more - putting London's much more recent Oyster card system to shame.
The Octopus system was ground-breaking at the time it was introduced, as judge John Higgins points out, and "remains a world beacon".
Key tech companies BT, China Mobile, Hutchison Whampoa, IBM, Lenovo.
Key institutions Hong Kong Stock Exchange, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute.
Local salaries Senior software engineer, $42,000.
Famous faces Li Ka-shing, chairman of Hutchison Whampoa; Wang Jianzhou CEO of China Mobile.
Population 6.9 million.
iPod cost $148 Source: CommSec, Apple.
Time zone GMT +8 hours.
Voltage and plugs 220V 50Hz three-pin UK-style, also rounded three-pin.
How to get there Fly in to Hong Kong International Airport - Chek Lap Kok Airport.
Watch out for Smog.
Places to stay, eat or drink Island Shangri-la, Intercontinental Hong Kong.
What you might not know The name Hong Kong translates as 'fragrant harbour' but air quality and pollution is a serious problem in the city. Hazy conditions are caused by vehicle emissions and smog from power plants and industry in the neighbouring Pearl River Delta region of China.
The "untold story about India" more
Find out where all the excitement is happening… more
Computer bugs have brought Hong Kong's airport cargo handling system to its knees. A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Embassy said: "It's only a minor problem" but was unable to confirm whether systems have returned to normal. more
The Hong Kong Police Force needed to integrate disparate systems to better coordinate law-enforcement activities across districts and more easily input and access information. The new system has reduced paperwork, streamlined police operations, and... more
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) has a force of 28,000 uniformed officers and a supporting civilian staff of 7,500. Motorola provided a fully TETRA compliant Dimetra IP system operating in the 410-430 MHz band.master switches (zones), one for each... more
University of Hong Kong (HKU) wanted to improve the delivery of educational content and services for all 16,500 students and staff at Hong Kong's oldest university and set up the appropriate hardware and infrastructure to support the delivery of e... more
The smooth operation of Hong Kong International Airport is underpinned by a series of sophisticated IT solutions that handle the flow management of passengers, cargo, capital and information. The Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) needs the dedicated... more
Copyright © 2008 CBS Interactive Limited. All rights reserved. Top of page