Nokia will be counting down to 2007 in 5 cities across 4 continents! Asia is twice represented - Hong Kong and Mumbai! Europe's represented by Berlin, South America by Rio, and North America by New York. The selected cities are generally (I say generally as I'm not too sure about Mumbai though) reknown as throbbing, pulsating and glamorous metropolises in the forefront of entertainment and partying. But then, some say, why wasn't Tokyo or London or Singapore or Paris selected? Don't these cities measure up in terms of the hip quotient? Has politics, or economics anything to do with it? More likely economics, especially since China (represented by Hong Kong SAR) and India (represented by Mumbai) are rising economic powerhouses ready to explode in the years ahead. Imagine, 1.4 billion people in China + 1 billion in India = 2.4 billion potential nokia handset sales.. now that's brilliant marketing!

Poor Singapore, with only 4.5 million, was at a tremendous disadvantage. This, coupled with the fact that certain laws appear to discriminate against the gay population, may have made it lose favour with party organizers. Yes, gay sex is an offence in Singapore to this very day!! Hong Kong, another ex-British colony which had also inherited similar gay-sex laws as Singapore's, has, by comparison, long abolished these laws. And this was done after she returned to China, mind you! Is it any wonder Hong Kong won over Singapore? Your guess is as good as mine...