Estonia creates data bank on Asian countries

A information bank on Asia has been jointly created by Estonia's three major universities, first of its kind for Estonian viewers supplying extended information about Asian countries. The aim of the database is to assist Estonian companies and organizations finding Estonian experts on the continent or any of its countries, Urmas Pappel, a coordinator of the database, said in a press release on Wednesday. Local Estonian Broadcasting Corporation (ERR) on Thursday quoted Pappel as saying that the long-term goal of the project is to develop knowledge of Asia in Estonian society. Those listed in the database will have to have lived in an Asian nation for a minimum of two years, conducted academic research on any Asian country or have at least intermediate proficiency in an Asian language. The database is a joint project by Tallinn University, the University of Tartu and the Tallinn University of Technology. It is freely available for use by the public and currently has about 40 contacts.