New York's Empire State Building, which has been derided by some in the real estate world as the "Empty State Building", has also had trouble filling out its offices.

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Yet when Mr Checchi was obliged to beam down from the virtual world to the real one to attend a convention of the state's Democratic Party in Los Angeles on March 20th-22nd, he put on a dismal performance.

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In the real - rather than virtual - world, Washington is known to favour a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated agreement with Israel, with which it has strong ties.

BBC: Palestinians secure cyber state