As the information age becomes a reality for increasing numbers of people around the world, the technologies that underpin it are getting more sophisticated and useful. The opportunities are immense. For individuals, a great leap forward in their ability to communicate and create, speak and be heard; for national economies, accelerated growth and innovation.

However, these technological advances do sometimes make it feel as if our lives are now an open book. Credit cards record where we shop and what we buy. Mobile phones track our every movement. E-mails leave a trail of whom we “talk” to and what we say. The latest internet trends – blogs, video sharing sites and social networks – make it possible to share almost anything – photos, home movies, one’s innermost thoughts – with almost anyone.