tonight, on "worldfocus." >> tonight on a special edition of "worldfocus," technology around the globe.

what innovations are happening overseas that may soon make their way here to america? you've heard of living the high life. well, in the nation of estonia they're living what they call the e-life and loving every minute of it. in singapore, what to do about all those cars clogging the streets. the government says it has the solution, pay as you drive. but that is giving new meaning to the term road rage. from greece, new hope for the blind. the simple act of walng down the street once a challenge, gets easier, thanks to this handheld device. and from israel, it's the electric company. with tens of thousands of electric cars expected to hit the road in the next few years, one company is hoping to change the way we fill up. from the different perspectives of reporters and analysts from around the globe, this is "worldfocus." major support has been provided by --

rosalind p. walter and the peter g. peterson foundation, dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility and addressing key economic challenges facing america's future. and additional funding is provided by the following supporters -- hello and welcome to "worldfocus." i'm daljit dhaliwal in new york. tune in to most television news broadcasts and you are likely to see a lot of coverage on what might be called the three c's. conflicts, crises and celebrities. that's left a lot of territory open for programs like "worldfocus" to explore. one area that is often overlooked is the profound impact of science and technology on our daily lives. think of the sophisticated technologies which in recent years have become taken for granted.

computers and the internet. medical technologies like mris and robotic surgery. or genetic modification in agriculture. of course, many of these innovations don't start here but begin life overseas. and that is the subject of tonight's broadcast. we begin with a report that i first brought you in april of last year. it's from estonia, one of the most wired places on earth. there they are living something they call e-life. sound intriguing? well, we thought so, too. >> reporter: it's not every day that a prime minister shows you how he does his banking. but estonia's head of state andrus ansip has a story to tell and it starts with that little blue card that he's slipping out of his wallet. from prime minister to preschooler, more than 80% of estonians already have one just seven years after the rst national i.d. card was issued. with its encoded digital

information, the i.d. card opens up a world of services. file your tax return, ride the bus, check your children's homework assignments. and if all of that isn't enough, estonia's 1.3 million people can also use their cell phones to access that digital information, which means this man doesn't need change for the parking meters in downtown tallinn, estonia's capital city. >> yes, we like it. >> reporter: it's hard to imagine a country experiencing a more astonishing leap forward in technology. when the iron curtain fell and estonia emerged from 51 years of soviet occupation, only half the people here had a telephone. 18 years later, more than two-thirds are using the internet. linnar viik, often referred to as estonia's internet guru, grew up in tallinn.

the tallinn viik lives in today is one of the most wired and wireless places on earth. >> nobody asks any longer is that a useful piece of plastic. >> reporter: viik made the national i.d. card possible popular by making it a tool of the people, not something to be used against them. >> with the help of this card or digital identity which i'm holding, i can login to a government portal and know and learn what government knows about me. >> i.d. card is like key to accessing the data. >> reporter: this man is deputy director at the estonian informatic center where his job is to put the country's services online in a way that works. >> yes, it's e-government but the government does work for the people, not that people have to surf and find the pieces and there's like thousands of

e-services but they just get lost. >> reporter: 20,000 people use this e-access to their government every day. and despite a massive cyber attack that shut down government websites for weeks in 2007, most people seem confident their personal data is safe. one of the most popular services is buying bus passes using their i.d. cards. estonians don't have to show or use the card to get on a bus, so there is a chance to ride for free, which is called riding like a rabbit. it works unless the e-police make a random check. riders with cards that don't show a credit back on the central database are off to a waiting van for a lecture, a fine and maybe a long walk home. not everyone or everything is wired in estonia. this is a country struggling in the global recession. while the ferries cut across the

baltic sea from finland bringing shoppers looking for bargains and tourists spend their cash in tallinn's old city, 8% of estonians are out of work. but no matter how tough times are, there's no changing course. >> this is very easy to find -- >> reporter: for prime minister ansip, governing without paper is routine. and his personal business gets done with the click of a keypad. this time, it's an opportunity to transfer what he called pocket money to his daughter's account using his mobile phone. >> and my daughter lisa got $10. >> reporter: lucky lisa. >> thanks to you. >> reporter: another example of what estonians call a comfortable system of e-government and e-life. and the prime minister likes to joke about. >> our people, they are, let's

say, quite lazy people. we like to use very comfortable internet-based e-solutions. >> reporter: which may explain why the one place estonians are willing to wait in line is in the citizenship office where identity cards are issued. in tallinn, estonia, i'm daljit dhaliwal reporting for "worldfocus." other countries with electronic i.d. cards include spain, finland, belgium, italy, yemen, morocco and malaysia. germany plans to introduce new electronic cards starting this november. our next story takes us to greece. we know that many of you are especially interested in advancements in medical technologies. in greece, as in many countries,

for a blind person, the simple act of walking down the street often means relying on the help of strangers. but now a small handheld device about the size of a cell phone holds the promise of giving blind people everywhere an independence few ever imagined. its inventors call it smart eyes. "worldfocus" producer megan thompson recently traveled to greece to see how it works. >> reporter: this man is on his way to the university where he's studying education. but as a blind man here on the streets of greece's second largest city, he's a rather unusual sight. >> translator: in greece, it's very difficult for a disabled person to get around outside. and that's why you don't see many of them. >> reporter: in greek, this name means light and patches of light are all he can now see after a degenerative eye c slowly took his sight away.

so he must commit directions on memory, rely on strangers for help and navigate the dangers with his white cane among greece's notoriously crowded streets and sidewalks. greece lags behind many of its european neighbors when it comes to protecting disableded. it has laws to ensure access to employment and public education. and for the blind, beeping cross walks and grooves in the city sidewalks to guide their way. that is, when they're not blocked. seeing eye dogs would help the most, but they're not allowed in public places. >> translator: the government is trying, but it doesn't pay enough attention to what disabled people themselves say they need. generally speaking here in greece, it's the government that's disabled. it can't hear and it can't see either. >> reporter: but he isn't waiting for the government to come up with all the answers.

he's helping the university of thessaloniki to test technology about the way blind people get around greece. this is a voice-activated cell phone. computer and gps system. all rolled into one. we're going along with him to visit a friend in downtown thessaloniki. first he tells smart eyes where he wants to go. and smart eyes talks back. packed with detailed information about the streets and sidewalks, ongoing road work and public transportation systems, smart eyes then maps out a route. the fastest, most direct route, or the safest route. with good sidewalks and lighting so other people can see him.

smart eyes' gps system tracks his location along the way and can find stores and services if he needs something. >> translator: the great thing about smart eyes is that before i used it, i had to depend on someone to tell me where i was when i was in an area i didn't know and sometimes there was no one to ask. now i know exactly where i am at any given moment without needing anyone to tell me. >> reporter: this doctor leads the smart eyes development team at the university of thessaloniki. >> the idea is how technology can be used in order to overcome the problems of everyday life and especially when they move around the city, which is something for them to socialize, be a part of the community and at the same time feel more confident for themselves. >> reporter: you won't find smart eyes on the store shelves just yet. the team is working out the final kinks, looking for ways to bring it to mass market with corporate partners. one thing smart eyes can't do is

foresee all the unexpected obstacles. he has to get past those himself. but smart eyes, he says, gives him independence and hope that its success will spur other inventors to focus their work on the disabled, too. >> translator: the disabled have to learn that their disability does not exclude them from society. they can do all sorts of things and just need to develop different ways of dolg doing them. >> reporter: for "worldfocus," i'm megan thompson. >> since "worldfocus" producer megan thompson filmed that report, the inventor of smart eyes completed a pilot program in which 150 blind people in greece were allowed to test the device. they are now evaluating the results of that test, hoping to make smart eyes available on a widespread basis.

not every technological innovation gets greeted with as much enthusiasm as that device for the blind that you just heard about. while no one disputes that traffic ja bad for cities and bad for the environment, many of the proposed solutions to the problem are proving controversial. in singapore, the government has instituted a strict system of tolls in which drivers literally pay as they go in an effort to discourage driving. but as i found out when i traveled there in late 2008, many people in singapore considered driving a right, not a privilege. >> this is always jammed. >> reporter: it's a typical tuesday for this busy real estate broker in singapore. today she's showing us her down

time listings. and even though we haven't crossed a bridge, driven through a tunnel or been on an interstate, we've already racked up $2.50 in tolls just by driving downtown in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week. in singapore, it's pay as you go. tolls are collected automatically under a plan known as electronic road pricing, or erp. the goal, to unclog urban traffic jams by discouraging driving on popular roads during peak hours. >> unless i have no choice, i will travel a long way to get to the place if i can avoid the erp system. >> reporter: singapore's road pricing system, the world's first, was born out of necessity. an island nation of 400 square miles singapore is crowded. with 4.8 million people.

>> we have been, in a way, forced by circumstances to do many of the things that we had to do. >> reporter: because land is so limited, building roads comes at the expense of houses, schools and offices. so the government strictly controls the number of cars on the road by making it very expensive to own one. citizens must bid for a license just to buy a car, a permit which can cost as much as the car itself. and that's just the beginning of what drivers have to pay. >> but once we get in, we have to go to another -- >> reporter: every car in singapore is fitted with a unit that holds a refillable cash card. as drivers pass under what's known as a gantry, an athletic tronic idea ducts a toll. . >> it's not rocket science to know if you charge people for use of a certain commodity, that use is managed and controlled. >> reporter: to keep traffic

moving, tolerates are higher during the rush hour. >> so by pricing the roads at different rates at different times, you actually encourage people to shift their patterns. >> reporter: and residents here have, despite the relative wealth of the country, fewer than 30% of singaporeans own a car. >> as our population grows, our public transport networks need to grow in tandem. >> reporter: road pricing works in singapore because the country offers a viable alternative to driving in its public transportation system. bus stations here are lifestyle hubs with free wireless hot spots. commuters receive text messages with updated transit information. you can shop, bank, eat and transfer to other busses or the subway known as the mrt. the mrt is the backbone of singapore's public transportation system.

it opened in 1987 and has an average daily ridership of 1.7 million people. that dropped nearly 70% since the road pricing system was implemented. >> we want to make our transit system a welming place. people will use it. they will feel comfortable using it. >> reporter: and people do like it. the 2008 gallup poll names singapo singapore's mrt the best in the world in terms of customer satisfaction. >> we too extra care to ensure when we designed the station we wanted to make sure it was spacious so people would feel comfortable walking in them. >> reporter: but not too comfortable. loitering is illegal and there are hefty fines attached. >> i'm going get fined. >> reporter: in this country famous for its fines, there are of course penalties for driving through the gantrys with insufficient funds. >> this is what people say.

it's a fine country. fine, f-i-n-e. >> reporter: not surprisingly road pricing isn't popular with drivers. >> people don't like paying for things which they perceive to be free. i mean, i've paid my road taxes. i've paid my income taxes. why do i need to pay for this? >> reporter: sommer chants in singapore's chinatown have another complaint. they say the tolls are discouraging shoppers in their area. the government is well aware of their unhappiness. >> they don't agree with it, but i think they've come to accept it and i think that's probably the best we can hope. >> reporter: and how, mr. minister, do you get to work? >> i drive myself, because, "a," my time is valuable. and, "b," because i can afford to. >> reporter: for "worldfocus" i'm daljit dhaliwal reporting

from singapore. >> the idea of electronic road pricing has been taken up by other cities around the world including toronto, london, stockholm and dubai. early 2008 in new york the city tried to implement its own version calling it congestion pricing. the plan never got off the ground after running into strong opposition. in israel, cars and their impact on the environment is also a big concern. as in many countries, israelis see the electric car as the best way to reduce their dependence on oil and cut harmful greenhouse gases. but there is one big hitch. electric cars need frequent recharging. enter one group of israeli entrepreneurs.

they've got an ambitious plan to build a vast network of charging stations hoping it will become the 21st century equivalent of all of those gas stations. "worldfocus" special correspondent michael greenspan reports from israel on how in a few years fill it up may take on a completely new meaning. >> the best car in the world. the best car for the world. >> reporter: by now the idea of an electric car is not nearly as miraculous as it once was. so when you look at this israeli electric car, you might think what's the big deal? it turns out the big deal isn't the car but a system this man has created to keep it and hundreds of thousands of other electric cars running all at the same time and also going greater distances. >> we're effectively a new kind of mobility company. it's the first generation of mobility companies were cell phone companies. they sold you minutes on a device you talked on. we sell you miles on a device you drive in. >> reporter: electric cars today like this test model can travel

just over 100 miles on a whole charge. that's why the hybrids you see on the road rely on both an electrical charge and gasoline. but the new car from better place, with its uniquely charging system, is meant to extend that range. >> the main goal is to give the user a feeling that he can drive anywhere anyplace with no limitations so he doesn't feel it's an electric car. >> reporter: drivers will find a few differences like this combination gps and computer, which will be fitted into the car's dashboard. before beginning the day on a full charge, you punch in your intended destinations. while you're on your way, the system transmits the data to a service center, which calculates your energy requirements. after you pull in to park, you then plug in to charge up. one end of the car. the other end into one of these charge spots. within two years the people at better place say they're going to have several hundred thousand of these installed throughout israel on a test basis.

it's here they say that the real revolution begins. based on how long you plan to remain parked and how many other cars are charging their batteries at the same time, the system works out a plan to keep your battery sufficiently charged without overloading the electric grid. it will even update you on the charge status via text messages. most charging will occur at night when people are parked at home and electricity is plentiful. if that's the case, asks this man, a writer on energy at "forbes" magazine, who needs better place's costly infrastructure? >> if you can recharge at home you might not need a better place because most people don't go more than 20 miles in a given day. they don't need a vast network of charging stations. >> reporter: but what happens when you want to take a trip beyond battery range and don't have time to recharge? better place says its technology will tell you where to stop along the way in or out of town to have a robot replace your battery with a fresh one in about the same time it now takes

to fill up at the pump. the batteries are free and recyclable. like at the charge points, you only pay for the electricity you use. after testing this concept in israel, better place plans to do the same in denmark and australia. it has already signed deals with those nationalments with the province of ontario, with the state of hawaii, and with municipalities in the bay area of california. and better place boldly claims that if the u.s. government were to fund the project and if u.s. car manufacturers produced enough electric cars, an electric car system could be up and running across the united states by 2012. >> being successful also means that you understand what's coming. >> reporter: shipping magnate and business tycoon. edon ofer is convinced better place will succeed. so convinced that though he owns the largest oil refinery it sunk $130 million in seed money into

bitter place, an investment he says into the future. >> we're reducing our dependency on oil and we are reducing co2 emissions. this is a great thing. >> sounds good. but the doubters ask if that's really the case. >> at least in the u.s. certain parts of the country are very coal intensive like the northeast and mid-atlantic states. if you convert the entire fleet to electric-powered cars charging off the grid, off of coal you're going to end up with a worse environment than you would otherwise. >> reporter: the better place people dispute that and they cite another reason for going electric. less dependence on oil, much of it arab oil. >> not only for israel. look at the u.s. economy where dependence on oil as a globe. when you see the price of oil going up and down to such extreme, you really understand that the dependency on oil not only from an energy source but also geopolitical and economic perspective needs to find a solution. >> our job in better place is to make our solution usable and

affordable. >> reporter: and to convince both policy and carmakers that instead of bailing out today's failing automotive industry, they should be investing in tomorrow. the people at better place believe they're the ones who know how to go the next step, to build the system and infrastructure to make electric cars attractive and practical for drivers. this is michael greenspan reporting for "worldfocus" in israel. >> since michael greenspan filed that report in february of 2009, better place has announced that it intends to build a similar network of charging stations in denmark and australia. in israel, it is expected that 45,000 electric cars will be on the road by 2015. and that is "worldfocus" for this wednesday evening. a reminder, you can watch us any time on the web at wor worldfocus.org. thank you for joining us. we hope to see you back here

tomorrow night at the same time. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com major support for "worldfocus" has been provided by -- rosalind p. walter and the peter g. peterson foundation, dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility and addressing key economic challenges facing america's future. and additional funding is provided by the following supporters --