Smart Phones Are Smarter Than You Think (int'l edition)

If the authors knew more about what's going on in Japan, ''Smart phones'' (European Business, Oct. 18) would have been more helpful. The short article describing the Japanese smart-phone landscape says ''Japan has emerged as a front-runner in wireless Net communications.'' This should have been more thoroughly described.

There are two types of Web-accessible cell-phone services in Japan--a service called ''i-mode'' based on homegrown technology and one based on wireless application protocol (WAP). The former is a lot more popular than the latter; i-mode users hit 2 million in mid-October, about six months after the launch date. NTT DoCoMo, the dominant cell-phone operator in Japan, launched i-mode this year, based on its nationwide packet-switched cellular network. Since the service employs a packet-switched, not circuit-switched, network, there is no wait for a connection. If you select a ''bookmark'' of your cell phone's microbrowser--for example, a weather forecast service--you can get the forecast in less than five seconds. NTT DoCoMo has this kind of infrastructure now, whereas competitors in Japan and elsewhere are still building it.

Web sites tailored for i-modes are flourishing; i-mode's portal site has sites that include banking sites with wire-transfer capability (still an important way of paying in Japan), stock brokerage sites with execution capability, restaurant guides with discount coupons, ticket box offices, flight schedule, and reservations. Smart-phone-based e-commerce is an everyday reality now in Japan.

Hideyo Imazu
Tokyo

India's Youth Shouldn't Forget Its Roots (int'l edition)

The author speaks optimistically in ''Capitalist generation'' (Economics, Oct. 11) about the benefits that liberalization has brought for India but avoids mention of its ill effects. How could the author call the affected youth patriotic when they care least about political and state affairs and are self-centered, ready to sacrifice the interest of the nation and its people in a bid to get rich? These youths are far different from their rural counterparts and have thrown their moral and cultural values in a trash can, which has resulted in the breaking of family bonds and has left them confused and isolated.

No doubt they are enterprising and smarter because of the many changes liberalization has brought with it. But to me, liberals are those who have a broader sense of perception, thus imbibing the best of other cultures while preserving our values and culture.

Rijuta Jain
Makati, Philippines

Hopes and Prayers for East Timor (int'l edition)

As an onlooker and well-wisher from a neighboring country, I hope the peacekeepers will put an end to this, so that there will be no more bloodshed among the East Timorese, especially women and children (''Was Timor's chaos part of a plan?'' Asian Business, Oct 4). They don't deserve to be in the center of this terrifying situation.

I believe that one day, the dream will come true of having a new government and a new infrastructure. All I'm saying is that there is always room for chance, and I think they have every right to be given a chance. As for now, we just have to wait and pray for those East Timorese in their battle to stay alive.

Yusma Yusoff
Singapore

Executive Education: The Best and the Brightest (int'l edition)

''Learning to lead'' (Special Report, Executive Education, Oct. 18) was thought-provoking. For some years, I ran an executive-education program in Helsinki. I was then hired to run a Crash Executive Education Program (CREEP) at Linkoping University in Sweden--for final-year students. What I wanted was, if not to make them competent as chief executives right away, at least to show them what they could expect from their future bosses. The Finnish army did the same, training all officers to become competent as generals, even though in the 1940s, the dean of Harvard business school told Peter Drucker that teaching management to students would be a waste of time.

What my students got from me was a simple model: ''A general manager is either an excellent inventor or an outstanding salesman. A leader knows the difference.'' They formed groups and had to find an interesting subject, a company, or an individual leader, then present a report. The subjects were mostly dealing with top leaders in Sweden but also with Martin Luther King and Pope John Paul II.

How many of these young men and women will reach the top is, of course impossible to say, but I wouldn't be surprised if sooner or later I read about some of them, maybe in BUSINESS WEEK.

Christer Danielsson
Akers Styckebruk, Sweden

Ask Jeeves, and He'll Tell You about Other Search Engines (int'l edition)

''This butler didn't do it,'' (Technology and You, Aug. 2) reviewed Ask Jeeves, concluding that Jeeves was not a very effective search engine. Intrigued, I went to Jeeves and did some searches. One of Jeeves's strengths appears to be the fact that he refers to other search engines (in addition to his own resources). Just for fun, I typed in the name of my company's CEO. Jeeves had no information on her but directed me to Excite and AltaVista, which contained the company Web page and several press statements by the CEO.

Impressed, I also typed my own name during a flight of fancy. Jeeves had no material on me and asked me if I wanted information on the Tang Dynasty and also some home pages of people surnamed Tang. What astonished me, though, was that Jeeves also directed me to Excite, which referred me to the company Web page. I am an obscure person with neither fame nor fortune and it is inconceivable to me that I could find any information on myself through an Internet search engine. Consequently, I do feel that you were rather unfair to Jeeves. By combining several search engines, Jeeves is a powerful Internet tool.

Tang Hangwa
Kuala Lumpur

The U.S. Should Take the Lead in Energy Efficiency (int'l edition)

In ''What price pollution? Leave that to a global market'' (Economic Viewpoint, Oct. 18), Gary Becker is incorrect about Kyoto being a bad agreement, on at least four counts:

1) Kyoto won't cause jobs to move to nonsignatory countries. For more than 90% of U.S. industry, the energy cost is less than 3% of sales. For most, it is less than 2%, and for the high-energy-using remainder, transport and inconvenience costs would greatly outweigh any penalty from not conforming to Kyoto requirements.

2) There is no need for any cost increase, anyway. The U.S. can reduce energy use per capita or per unit of production by 50% with net cost savings and increases in employment. Economists have trouble with this idea, but talk to technologists who know.

3) The U.S. has long been the world's economic, political, and often moral leader. This is another area where it should lead. With its example, assistance, and investment, most of the ''annex 2'' countries will happily fall into line. They would prefer to develop with the benefits of energy efficiency.

4) While the evidence on global warming is indeed less than compelling, the risk is too high to run, particularly when avoiding the risk also provides net economic benefits, contrary to most economic models. Becker is right that trading permits or allowances is the best way to implement Kyoto.

Murray Duffin
Geneva

''Storming ahead of the pack in Asia'' (International Finance, Nov. 1) (int'l edition)

In ''Storming ahead of the pack in Asia,'' (International Finance, Nov. 1), the name of Morgan Stanley Japan's president was misspelled. It's Thierry Porte.

''Storming the barricades of French auctions'' (European Business, Oct. 25) (int'l edition)

''Storming the barricades of French auctions'' (European Business, Oct. 25) incorrectly reported the value of the art and antiques from a French chateau that Sotheby's auctioned off in June. The figure was $26.4 million.