Mr Hun Sen is said to be obsessed with Cambodia's ancient Khmer kingdom, which built the awesome Angkor Wat complex and once ruled much of Indochina.

ECONOMIST: One of the last (we hope) Asian strongmen

In 1970, Cambodia declared itself the Khmer republic.

CNN: Thursday,

But the State Department has similar five-year bilateral agreements with eight other countries, restricting importation of objects like pre-Columbian masks from Bolivia, Khmer statues from Cambodia and historic terra cotta sculptures from Mali.

FORBES: Collectors Guide

At least 1.7 million people -- nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population -- died under the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime from execution, disease, starvation and overwork, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

" A clearly impressed foreign observer remarks: "This shows Cambodia has traveled a fair distance since the end of Khmer Rouge rule.

CNN: A VOTE FOR PEACE

When Cambodia opened up to tourism in the 1990s, Ly -- who speaks Khmer, Russian, French and English -- became a licensed tour guide to earn more money.

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The National Museum of Cambodia, founded in 1920, possesses one of the world's greatest collections of Khmer artefacts.

UNESCO: CULTURE

In a bitterly ironic twist, many foreign observers argue that Cambodia is still incapable of mounting a properly constituted local tribunal for Pol Pot's surviving Khmer Rouge lieutenants.

CNN: On the Road Back

Cambodia has made impressive progress in reconstructing its educational system which was completely destroyed during the brutal years of Khmer Rouge rule, between 1975 and 1979.

UNESCO: Country Profile: Cambodia

On July 26th in Cambodia, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, will hear his sentence as former commandant of Tuol Sleng, the Khmer Rouge prison which 14, 000 entered and barely a dozen left.

ECONOMIST: Banyan