Pay taxes on your cell? How Swede it is

Innovation comes naturally to the people of Sweden.

Some say it's in their blood.

After all, engineer Alfred Nobel - who established the Nobel Peace Prize on his deathbed in 1895 - was a Swede.

Cleverly, the blond-haired, blue-eyed nation has even found a way to pay their taxes via instant text messaging.

The third-largest country by area in Western Europe also enjoys one of the highest standards of modern society - a lifestyle they share with others around the world.

Nearly 10 percent of its nine million population is made up of immigrants.

The Swedes also offer chic yet affordable products to households around the world. Swedish home merchandise retailer IKEA has been furnishing and decorating homes since 1934. The company now has 250 stores worldwide and operates in over 36 countries - including China.

Located on the eastern side of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Sweden offers its entire eastern coast to the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia.

During the 8th century, the Swedish Vikings pushed their longboats off the country's coast to become one of the earliest explorers of the ancient world.

At a time when their Danish and Nordic neighbors traveled west, conquering and colonizing as they went, the Swedish Vikings took to the east, leading a more peaceful pilgrimage.

Rather than pillaging, they established trade routes and set up commerce, with records indicating they went as far south as Jerusalem, and east as Baghdad.

In April, a collection 472 silver coins with Arab markings were unearthed from a Bronze Age tomb near Stockholm's main airport. The collection, which dates back more than 1,000 years, is now said to be the largest and oldest discovery of its kind since 1827.

Apart from stashes of subterranean silver, Sweden is also home to the greatest abundance of Viking ruin stones on the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Just as their ancient Viking ancestors were more prone to peace than conflict, modern day Sweden has maintained a neutral designation since the 1800s.

After joining the European Union in 1995, Sweden decided to maintain its neutrality, turning down a membership to NATO.

When the EU passed a vote to adopt the euro as Europe's prime currency in 2003, Sweden overwhelmingly voted to maintain their Swedish Krona currency.

And, with environmental foresight back in the 1980s - when the issue was hardly topical - Sweden voted in a referendum to drift from nuclear power. Since the vote, the country has shut down two of its 12 nuclear reactors, the first in 1999, and the second in 2005.

While many of the traditional music styles of the Vikings have been lost to history, Sweden still maintains a rich and vast music culture, touching on every genre from folk to hip-hop.

Ranked as the third largest music exporter in the world, behind the US and UK, Sweden is responsible for a long list of well-known pop artists, including ABBA, The Hives, Ace of Base and The Cardigans.

Todd Balazovic

(China Daily 06/13/2008 page19)