Barbados

A former British colony and a member of the Commonwealth, Barbados is an island with a dual heritage: English, as is evident from its stone Anglican churches and horse races on Saturdays, and African, as manifested in its music and dance.

At times these overlap harmoniously, as in the Barbadian appropriation of the English game of cricket.

But at other times they brim with latent tension - between the affluent white community, which owns and controls the economy, funds political parties and exercises an indirect influence on governmentpolicy, and the majority black Barbadians.

To meet these challenges, the Barbadian government has sought to boost the country's offshore banking services and to encourage investment in information technology. The country has offshore reserves of oil and natural gas.

Beaches, limestone caverns and a warm climate tempered by trade winds are among the island's natural assets.