A MOBILE phone advertising banner the size of a house door stands on a corner in an electronic appliances center at Shenzen, China. It looks especially attractive, not because of the size or the flashy color, but rather because of the model shown in it: Barack Obama, President of the United States. He had unknowingly become the star of the BlockBerry 9500 Whirlwind mobile phone ad.

Do not be mistaken. What you see is not some kind of typing err