"With more and more companies entering the global marketplace, employers need to prepare their workers for living abroad to ensure a successful transition in their personal and professionals lives," said Mark Williams, partner with Arthur Andersen''s Human Capital practice and CountryNet.com project leader.

The only problem here might be that all this information isn''t cheap; CountryNet.com is available to U.S. companies for an annual subscription rate of $12,000 with an unlimited user base. CultureSavvy.com''s cultural training videos are available for an additional $3,000. There is a two-week free trial, though.

E-Business Plan Tune-ups
So, you''ve launched your e-commerce site, you have some customers, sales are OK. But is your business plan up to snuff?

A nifty new service launched recently will give you some answers.

Digital Bridge Inc. an integrated e-business solutions company, and Internet holding company M&A West Inc. said that one of their joint venture projects, Venturelist.com, an online resource for the venture capital industry, now offers a business plan analysis program for entrepreneurs.

The program, V-PAS (Venturelist Plan Analyst System), will allow entrepreneurs to submit complete business plans to be reviewed and scored based on predetermined guidelines. In addition to scoring the plans, Venuturelist.com''s team of industry experts will provide positive feedback, constructive criticism and recommended next steps.

The program is currently undergoing beta testing and Venturelist.com said it expects the program to be fully functional soon. Interested parties may sign up at the site. No immediate word on pricing.

"This program is intended to provide the entrepreneur with expert, unbiased, assessments of their business plan," said Dave Burleigh, general manager of Venturelist.com. "It''s very difficult to get an honest opinion from a friend or colleague who may be either unable or unwilling to give any meaningful feedback. Our methodology is simple and straight forward. Our program allows entrepreneurs a better understanding of where their plan needs to be in order to have a shot at receiving funding."

Venturelist.com puts those who need capital in contact with those who are looking to make investments in private ventures. The concept is to provide entrepreneurs and start-up companies looking for seed level investments a forum to post their executive summaries to accredited investors and institutions.