"Networked Readiness" versus "Digital Opportunity" Indexes

The World Economic Forum has just released its Global Information Technology Report 2007-8, which centers on the "Networked Readiness Index" it developed a number of years ago. Although Korea shot up in the world rankings this year, from 19th to 9th, I cannot help wondering exactly why this index ranks it lower than the ITU's Digital Opportunity Index, by which South Korea is number one in the world. Most of you are probably thinking the same thing that I am, but I'm not ready to let the cat out of the bag without some further analysis. Quite obviously, these are two different indexes that measure different things. Equally obviously, I need to look at exactly what each index measures, why those measures were chosen, and how they are used. That will be the subject of future posts here. Your thoughts on this subject are most welcome.