Ever since al-Jazeera aired the grainy tapes of Osama bin Laden's monologues after the World Trade Center attacks, the tiny Arab satellite-TV network has seemed to take on the stature of CNN.

FORBES: The Osama shortfall

Throughout the 7th-13th centuries they maintained a wide trade network across Asia, Africa and Europe, which made them the world's leading extensive economic power.

UNESCO: Underwater Cultural Heritage

They also gain access to a branch network and client list they could never afford to replicate, even after World Trade Organisation rules force China to open its domestic banking market fully from end-2006.

ECONOMIST: China's banking industry