In practice, they provide cheap labour (mainly from Asia) for the garment industry, farming and fish-processing.

ECONOMIST: Japanese immigration

At the other end of the spectrum, two-thirds of the companies in food processing, government services, farming or agriculture, health care and education, and half of the companies in chemical processing or manufacturing, construction, the oil industry, power, gas and water utilities, and the legal industry are expected to have one major mission-critical failure owing to year-2000 problems.

CNN: Gartner's year-2000 survey finds widespread disruptions likely

Accounting departments are farming out tasks such as processing invoices and collecting payments from debtors.

ECONOMIST: Men and machines

As far as the developed world, Britain has much more efficient farming practices, better transportation, storage and processing facilities.

CNN: World wastes half its food, study finds

Some industries such as banking are fairly well along in making computer systems year-2000 compliant, but others, including food processing, agriculture and farming, some government services, construction, law, and medical practice are lagging, Marcoccio said.

CNN: Gartner's year-2000 survey finds widespread disruptions likely

Then came construction, banking and securities broking in the 1980s, followed by overseas expansion (from prawn farming in Australia to a seafood-processing factory in Alaska in the early 1990s) and, finally, financial services.

ECONOMIST: Business and politics in Taiwan