The global business and political elite gathered on January 24 in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos for their annual festival of schmooze and serious debate at the World Economic Forum (WEF). Climate change, tensions in the Middle East and global energy security were all high on the agenda of the fourday, highaltitude huddle of top movers and shakers.

The guest list was as impressive as always, with participants able to flit from a breakfast with Microsoft founder Bill Gates to an evening audience with German Chancellor Andrea Merkel, via roundtable talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

The theme of this years meeting — The Shifting Power Equation — takes in everything from the growing geopolitical clout of countries like India, China and Brazil, to the increasing influence of Web logs on the traditional media. Everywhere, in society and business, the power is moving from the center to the periphery, said WEF founder Klaus Schwab. Vertical commandandcontrol structures are being eroded and replaced by communities and different platforms.

The 2,400 registered participants at Davos included 800 corporate chief executives or chairmen, 24 heads of state or government and 85 cabinet ministers. The theme of power transition was party reflected in the absence of big name US officials, while India sent a highprofile 100member delegation led by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath. Also on the list was the prime minister of Vietnam, the newest member of the World Trade Organisation, while the new faces of the corporate world were represented by the cofounders of Internet giant Google and the head of the Internet video site YouTube.