A Chinese book on nanometer has had its non-Chinese copyright transferred to a foreign fund at US$1. 526 million, a record amount for a Chinese book in an overseas region.
Machael Chen, representative of the Simon New Century United Fund, and Cui Guangyu, agent of the writers, signed the contract in Beijing after one month negotiation.
The book, named "Nanometer Century" in Chinese, written by Zhao Zhenhua and Cao Xin who are young economists, predicts that the 21st century is a century of nanometer technology.
The nanometer technology will spark a revolution in most of the industries, including high-tech fields like computers, Internet and genetic research, the book said.
The nanometer technology will also cause revolution in politics, military, ideology, ethics, values and lifestyle, according to the book.
Experts said the book is another instructive prophesy on the future since books like Third Wave by Alvin Toffler, the Road Ahead by Bill Gates and Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte were published.
A nanometer is one-billionth of 1 meter. Nanometer technology is used to develop new materials and turns out an annual value of US$50 billion around the globe.
(Xinhua 01/13/2001)
