Google's Schmidt to Visit Myanmar

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt heads to Myanmar next week, a sign of the Southeast Asian country's appeal to leading U.S. technology companies as it emerges from decades of secrecy and crippling western sanctions.

The visit on March 22 will be the first by a high-level executive from a U.S. technology giant, as many American companies have been held back by U.S. regulations that restrict their access to this market of 60 million people, giving international rivals an edge. Myanmar's information-technology sector is seen as a potential billion-dollar industry, soon to be boosted by planned advances in telecommunications. Two licenses will shortly be awarded to foreign operators, a step that is expected to improve Internet and mobile networks there.