While many traditional malls in North America are getting squeezed by a big-box era that includes the likes of Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy and Target in nearly every county, Asia's rapidly growing economy has spawned a new wave of consumers looking for places to shop and play.
Among them: a common desire to evolve from a command to a market economy, a mutual interest in containing Islam-fired nationalism in the new republics of Central Asia, and growing economic ties.