For animal parts from outside Thailand, the sequences are checked against an international database.

BBC: Lab bids to combat species smuggling

But an international database is only is only one of the possible ways of sharing DNA information internationally.

BBC: More than two million DNA samples are in the UK database

"Nobody has a real handle on the extent of the problem, " says Anna Kisluk, director of the Art Loss Register in New York, which maintains an international database of stolen art.

FORBES: Insurance: Hey, that's my picture on your wall

The caller said it was on "an international database".

BBC: A phone call for Mr Sellan

China has won 11 of the 24 Olympic gold medals awarded in badminton since 1992, according to the International Olympics Committee's database.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

At least 2 to 4 years of relevant professional experience in the field of database management acquired preferably in an international Organisation.

UNESCO: Job title

Yet it does have an internal database that tracks the debt of the country's almost 800 international and domestic banks.

ECONOMIST: Italian finance

New allegations that the NSA is compiling a database on millions of domestic telephone calls follows reports that the NSA had listened in on international calls that reached into the U.S. without obtaining court warrants.

NPR: NSA Operations Remain Opaque to Investigators

Rubin crunched his database for Forbes readers to find the best banks for five general types of customers: the international traveler, the tech-savvy professional, the average Joe, the new yuppie and the student.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The International Maritime Organization does keep records of incidents reported voluntarily by ship operators, but does not maintain a public database of that information.

CNN: July 8, 2012 -- Updated 1911 GMT (0311 HKT)