俄罗斯将成下一个硅谷?

His company, he says, is on a mission to save the world, from computer viruses and bottlenecks and the other threats posed by cyber crime. But when Kaspersky Labs started up in 1997, the firm that would become a world leader in internet security had a steep hill to climb.

“We had zero market share outside of Russia and there was no such a thing as a software market in Russia. So when we started, we have almost, almost zero income. And that was very difficult to survive. There was no help from government and there were... There was no such a thing of investment into software companies in Russia. So there (was)were just two choices, to die or to win. Well, we won.”

Now the company has offices worldwide. The key, Kaspersky says, was his team of ambitious engineers trained in Russia. The same resource, he says, Kaspersky Labs continues to draw on for new ideas and talent.

“I still dare Russia is a source of very talented engineers. Russian education, technical education system works quite well. So we are, well, we are very connected to the Russian universities. That's why we have our R&D offices, they’re mostly in Moscow, St. Petersburg and our CBS is out there, educational centers in Russia.”

And this may be the next center of excellence for Russia's IT expertise. It's Skolkovo, a government-backed project, to create Russia's own Silicon Valley on the outskirts of Moscow. It's not yet built, but Russian and international companies are being encouraged to invest. A little late, says Kaspersky, but a positive step.

“I'm not sure if the Skolkovo project is successful or not, we will see that in the future. But I think that the Russian government rehearses a very right moves into right direction. I hope that Skolkovo or maybe projects after Skolkovo will be more successful and Russia will have the own Silicon Valley.”

A place where more pioneering, high-tech Russian companies like Kaspersky Labs may thrive.

Matthew Chance, cnn, Moscow.