Lynette Lee Corporal

Thai Fund Foundation coordinator Chomphu Rammuang says that although she brings a big cloth bag to the supermarket and a lunch pack to work, she can still wind up with a plastic bag in hand by day’s end.

Newspapers threatened with lawsuits, journalists feeling lost as they seek redress in cases where the state is less than impartial in investigating the killings of journalists. Media is caught in attempts to use religion to curtail room for public debate.

As the English language assumes a more important role in the region, some caution against creating a "faulty perspective" if regional-language media are ignored.

Many parents are scratching their heads as they watch youngsters in the Asia- Pacific region create often-private online worlds .