Battle of the geeks heats up

US tech leaders face new challenger as Chinese programmers catch up fast

For years, the United States was the undisputed champion of "geekiness". After all, it was the efforts of great minds like George Lucas and Bill Gates in pushing technology to the forefront of popular imagination and reality that changed the word "geek" from being derogatory to a sought-after compliment on one's technological know-how.

With messy hair, limited social skills and thick-rimmed glasses, American geeks paved the way for the modern world with mobile phones, PCs and the Internet; their imaginations changed the way the US looks at the world and spawned a generation obsessed with the idea of light sabers, warp speed and extra terrestrials.