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Singapore, Taiwan and Korea are the only Asian companies that made it to the Top 10 of the latest Networked Readiness Index (NRI) featured in the 2010-2011 Global Information Technology Report.

The report, jointly published by INSEAD and the World Economic Forum, focuses on information and communications technology’s (ICT) power to transform society through modernisation and innovation.

The NRI, which ranks 138 economies worldwide by examining the correlation between ICT readiness and economic growth. Similar to the 2009-2010 report, Sweden and Singapore led the rankings by placing first and second in the NRI, respectively. Finland outplaced Denmark (No. 3 in 2009-2010) for the third spot in the rankings, followed by Switzerland (No. 4) and the United States (No. 5). The Asian Tiger economies continue to make progress, with both Taiwan, China (No. 6) and Korea (No. 10) each improving five places, followed closely by Hong Kong SAR placing 12th in the ranking.

"ICT, and the Internet in particular, have changed the world dramatically, and all indications point to an even higher rate of transformation of our lives going forward," says Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of Business and Technology at INSEAD and co-editor of the report.

The NRI examines economies worldwide on their preparedness to use ICT effectively on three dimensions: the general business, regulatory and infrastructure environment for ICT; the readiness of the three key societal actors - individuals, businesses and governments - to use and benefit from ICT; and their actual usage of available ICT.

"Innovation and ICT have proven a crucial lever for long-term growth, with countless social and economic benefits and the capacity to significantly improve people’s lives around the world," says Alan Marcus, Senior Director and Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications at the World Economic Forum and co-editor of the report. "Countries fully integrating new technologies and leveraging the new data revolution in their development and growth strategiesare laying the foundations for competitive, resilient economies for the future."

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