国内英语新闻:Internet of Things will shape future, but problems exist

If all objects of daily life, from a bottle of yoghurt to an airplane, are equipped with sensors, they can be identified and managed by computer systems, thus offering immense potential to consumers, manufacturers and firms.

Last year in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao first spoke of the drive to develop IOT.

His comments as well as subsequent proposals by the premier have ignited great interest in IOT. Having recognized the great potentials for economic and social progress, a number of local governments have focused on projects related the emerging sector.

Wuxi, Shanghai and Beijing, among other major cities, have put forward ambitious plans to become leaders in the sector.

The first theme forum of the Shanghai World Expo is closed in Ningbo, a coastal city of east China's Zhejiang Province, May 16, 2010. The two-day forum focusing on information and communication technologies (ICT) and urban development attracted over 600 participants including renowned scholars and entrepreneurs.

Bosses of China's leading technological companies are backing the government's IOT development drive.

"The IOT will absolutely be a big part of the next wave of the information technology revolution, just like the Internet was," said Wang Jianzhou, chairman of China Mobile, China's dominant mobile carrier and the world's largest by the number of users.

Wang talked about a wide range of services provided or promised by IOT technologies, including "intelligent home appliances" and smart buses that are already in trial operation in some cities.

However, given all its advantages, senior scientists and engineers said challenges still lie ahead in the course of IOT development and application.

"IOT is nothing but an extension of existing technologies. More attention needs to go toward its applications," Liu Jiren, chairman of China's largest software outsourcing firm Neusoft, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the forum.