With America's National Science Foundation forecasting that the nanotechnology industry will in time generate a trillion dollars' worth of business annually, the world's eyes are on this new area of human endeavor. The competition in nanotechnology development is heating up, with America, Asia (Japan) and Europe being the major players.

America had a clear lead at first in terms of researcher numbers and research budget, but Japan has been catching up, and other Asian countries have followed suit, strengthening their own research frameworks. Europe, while getting into this field early, allowed other regions to seize the initiative, but has drawn up long-term plans aimed at regaining lost ground.