See also: In the English-speaking world, a name for the decade was never universally accepted in the same manner as for decades such as the '80s, the '90s, etc. Orthographically, the decade can be written as the '2000s' or the '00s'. Common suggestions for referring to this decade: '2000s', 'Two-thousands', 'Twenty Hundreds', 'Twenty-ohs', '00s' (pronounced 'Ohs', 'Oh Ohs', 'Double Ohs' or 'Ooze'), the 'Zeros', 'the Aughts', 'the Noughties', 'the Aughties', 'the Oughties'. When the '20-' is dropped, the individual years within the decade are usually referred to as starting with an 'oh', such as 'oh-seven' to refer to the year 2007. During the 2000s decade, it was more common to hear years referred to starting with 'two-thousand' than 'twenty-oh'. It may be becoming more common to refer to the individual years of the decade as 'twenty-oh-seven' or 'twenty-oh-eight' than it had been during the 2000s, although the 'two thousand seven' pattern is still dominant.

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[ ] Politics and wars [ ] The and began after the in 2001. The was formed in 2002. A United States-led coalition invaded, and the led to the end of 's rule as Iraqi President and the in Iraq. And affiliated militant groups performed terrorist acts throughout the decade.

These acts included the, 7/7 in 2005, and the related to al-Qaeda in 2008. The expanded its sanctions amid 's failure to comply with its transparency obligations under the and resolutions. The War on Terror generated around the world, with questions regarding the justification for certain U.S. Actions leading to a loss of support for the American government, both in and outside the United States. Additional armed conflict occurred in the, including between and, then with Israel and.

The greatest loss of life due to came from the, which caused a that killed around one quarter-million people and displaced well over a million others. Cooperative international rescue missions by many countries from around the world helped in efforts by the most affected nations to rebuild and recover from the devastation. An enormous loss of life and property value came in 2005, when flooded nearly the entire city of. The resulting political fallout was severely damaging to the administration because of its perceived failure to act promptly and effectively.

In 2008, was elected President of the United States and became the first African-American U.S. President when he succeeded Bush in 2009. Terrorist attacks [ ]. • (2001–present) – refers to several, military, and diplomatic campaigns aimed at putting an end to by preventing groups defined by the U.S. And its allies as (largely groups such as, and ) from posing a threat to the U.S.

And its allies, and by putting an end to. The campaigns were launched by the United States, with support from and other allies, following the that were carried out by al-Qaeda. Today the term has become mostly associated with Bush administration-led wars in and. • – In 2001, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Canada and Australia invaded seeking to oust the and find al-Qaeda mastermind.

In 2011, the US government claimed had killed Bin Laden and buried his body at sea. Fatalities of coalition troops: 1,553 (2001 to 2009).

• (2003–2011) – In 2003, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia and Poland invaded and occupied Iraq. Claims that Iraq had at its disposal were later found to be unproven. The war, which ended the rule of 's, also led to violence against the coalition forces and between many and Iraqi groups, and to al-Qaeda.: Approximately 110,600 between March 2003 to April 2009. Hussein was eventually sentenced to death and hanged on December 30, 2006. • (Early 20th century – present) • (summer 2006) – took place in southern and northern. The principal parties were paramilitary forces and the. The war that began as military operation in response to the abduction of two Israeli reserve soldiers by the Hezbollah, gradually strengthened and became a wider confrontation.

• (Early 20th century – present) • (2000–2005) – After the signing of the failed to bring about a, in September 2000 the (uprising) broke out, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which has been taking place until the present day. As a result of the significant increase of suicide bombing attacks within Israeli population centers during the first years of the, in June 2002 Israel began the construction of the along the border arguing that the barrier is necessary to protect Israeli civilians from. The significantly reduced number of incidents of suicide bombings from 2002 to 2005 has been partly attributed to the barrier. The barrier's construction, which has been highly controversial, became a major issue of contention between the two sides.

The Second Intifada has caused thousands of victims on both sides, both among combatants and among civilians – The death toll, including both military and civilian, is estimated to be 5,500 Palestinians and over 1,000 Israelis, as well as 64 foreign citizens. Many Palestinians consider the Second Intifada to be a legitimate war of national liberation against foreign occupation, whereas many Israelis consider it to be a terrorist campaign. • – the frequent and fire launched from within civilian population centers in towards the Israeli southern civilian communities led to an Israeli in Gaza, which had the stated aim of reducing the Hamas rocket attacks and stopping the arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip. Throughout the conflict Hamas further intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, hitting civilian targets and reaching major Israeli cities and for the first time. The intense in densely populated combined with the use of heavy firepower by the Israeli side and the intensified Hamas rocket attacks towards populated Israeli civilian targets led to a high toll on the Palestinian side and among civilians. • The (1998–2003) – took place largely in the.

The widest interstate war in modern, it directly involved nine African nations, as well as about twenty armed groups, and earned the of 'Africa's World War' and the 'Great War of Africa.' An estimated 3.8 million people died, mostly from starvation and disease brought about by the deadliest conflict since World War II.

Millions more were from their homes or sought in neighboring countries. • – Russia invaded in response to Georgian aggression towards civilians and attack on South Ossetia. Both Russia and Georgia were condemned internationally for their actions. • The (1999–2000) – the war was launched by the on August 26, 1999, in response to the and the, which were blamed on the.

During the war Russian forces largely recaptured the separatist region of. The campaign largely reversed the outcome of the, in which the region gained de facto independence as the.

• The came to a close in 2000. • (2004–2009) – an armed conflict between the (FARDC) and the group (FDLR). • – an armed conflict between, a militant group, and security forces. Civil wars and guerrilla wars [ ]. In • (2003–2009) – an armed conflict in the region of western.

The conflict began when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs. One side was composed mainly of the and the Sudanese group, recruited mostly from the Abbala tribes of the northern region in Sudan. The other side was made up of rebel groups, notably the and the, recruited primarily from the non-Arab Muslim,, and ethnic groups.

Millions of people were displaced from their homes during the conflict. There are various estimates on – Sudanese authorities claim a death toll of roughly 19,500 civilians while certain non-governmental organizations, such as the, claim that over 400,000 people have been killed during the conflict. Former called the events in Darfur a genocide during his presidency. The unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 467, which declared the situation in Darfur a state-sponsored genocide by the.

In 2008, the charged with for his role in the War in Darfur. • (2006–present) – an armed conflict fought between rival and in Mexico. Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for quite some time, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's and cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale in the United States. Arrests of key cartel leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as cartels fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.

Roughly more than 16,851 people in total were killed between December 2006 until November 2009. Natanti-aircraft guns guarding in Iran • Since 2005, has become the subject of contention with the Western world due to suspicions that Iran could divert the civilian nuclear technology to a weapons program. This has led the to impose on select companies linked to this program, thus furthering its economic isolation on the international scene. The said in February 2009 that Iran would not realistically be able to a get a nuclear weapon until 2013, if it chose to develop one. • In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq over allegations that its leader was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction including chemical and biological weapons or was in the process of creating them.

None were found, • successfully performed two nuclear tests in and. • – during the operation, Israel bombed what was believed to be a Syrian nuclear reactor on September 6, 2007, which was thought to be built with the aid of. The and (CIA) later declared that American intelligence indicated the site was a nuclear facility with a military purpose, though Syria denies this. • The, the symbolic representation of the threat of nuclear annihilation, moved four minutes closer to midnight: two minutes in 2002 and two minutes in 2007 to 5 minutes to midnight. National sovereignty [ ] • regains independence from in 2002. Portugal granted independence to East Timor in 1975, but it was soon after invaded by Indonesia, which only recognized East Timorese independence in 2002. • gains independence from with Serbia in 2006.

Although not an member, Montenegro uses the as its national currency. • gains independence from in 2008, though its independence by many countries even today. • On August 23, 2005, from 25 in the and ends. • On August 26, 2008, Russia formally the disputed regions of and as independent states. The of United Nations maintain that the areas belong to Georgia. Democracy [ ] During this decade, the peaceful transfer of power through elections first occurred in Mexico, Indonesia,, Colombia, and several other countries.

(See below.) Prominent political events [ ]. Protesters in during the – The sparked massive protests in Iran and around the world against alleged electoral fraud and in support of defeated candidate. During the protests the Iranian authorities closed universities in Tehran, blocked web sites, blocked cell phone transmissions and text messaging, and banned rallies. Several demonstrators in Iran were killed or imprisoned during the protests. Dozens of human casualties were reported or confirmed.

• – Former President of the died of after being in hospital from June 2009, and was first diagnosed with in March 2008 on August 1, 2009; she was 76. • The is an elected politician who, along with the of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of. The role, created in 2000 after the, was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. • The Netherlands becomes the first country in the world to fully legalize on April 1, 2001. • makes progress with the definitive circulation of the euro in twelve countries in 2002 and the widening of to 27 countries in 2007. A is rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, but a similar text, the, is drafted in 2007 and by the 27 members countries. • dies on 2 April 2005.

Is elected on 19 April 2005. • becomes in 2001 and again in 2008, after two years of a government held by, dominating the political scene for more than a decade and becoming the longest-serving post-war Prime Minister. • 1–4 June 2002 – The was the international celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries. • replaced as President of the Government of Spain in 2004. • succeeded as the in 2008. • becomes the first female in 2005.

• The signed in,, to restore the and bring in the principle of policing by consent with the with all parties in 2006. • is elected President of France in 2007 succeeding, who had held the position for 12 years. • succeeds as in 2007.

• was officially confirmed as Middle East envoy for the United Nations, European Union, United States, and Russia in 2007. • Parties broadly characterised by political scientists as being soar throughout the 2000s, in the wake of increasing anti-Islam and anti-immigration sentiment in most Western European countries. By 2010, such parties (albeit often significant differences between them) were present in the national parliaments of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Greece. In Austria, Italy and Switzerland, the, and, respectively, were at times also part of the national governments, and in Denmark, the tolerated a right-liberal minority government from 2001 throughout the decade. While not being present in the national parliaments of France and the United Kingdom, of the came second in the first round of the, and in the, the came second, beating even the Labour Party, while the managed to win two seats for the first time.

Gallery of notable world leaders [ ] •. The prominent assassinations of the decade included: • January 16, 2001 –, the President of the was assassinated by a bodyguard. The motive remains unexplained. • October 17, 2001 – Minister of Tourism was by three Palestinian assailants, members of the. • May 6, 2002 –, Dutch politician, was assassinated.

• March 12, 2003 –, Prime Minister. • September 10, 2003 –, Swedish foreign minister, was assassinated after being in the chest, stomach, and arms by Serbian national while shopping in a department store. • March 22, 2004 –, the founder and spiritual leader of the militant group, was in the by the. • November 2, 2004 –, Dutch filmmaker and critic of, was assassinated in.

• February 14, 2005 –, former, was when explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kg of were detonated as his drove past the St. George Hotel in. The assassination attempt also killed at least 16 other people and injured 120 others. • December 27, 2007 –, former Pakistani prime minister, was assassinated at an election rally in.

The assassination attempt also killed at least 80 other people. • March 2, 2009 –, of, was assassinated during an armed attack on his residence in. • May 31, 2009 –, advocate and provider, was at his church in, by Scott Roeder. Disasters [ ] Natural disasters [ ]. The caused by the December 26, 2004, earthquake strikes, Thailand. The 2000s experienced some of the worst and most destructive in history.

Earthquakes (including tsunamis) [ ] • On January 13, 2001, a 7.6 earthquake strikes El Salvador, killing 944 people. • On January 26, 2001, an hits, India, killing more than 12,000.

• On February 28, 2001, the Nisqually earthquake hits the Seattle metro area. It caused major damage to the old highway standing in the urban center of Seattle. • On February 13, 2001, a hits, killing at least 400. • On May 21, 2003, an earthquake in the region of northern kills 2,200. • On December 26, 2003, the massive devastates southeastern; over 40,000 people are reported killed in the city of.

• On December 26, 2004, one of the worst in recorded history hits southeast Asia, when hits the entire Indian Ocean region. The massive 9.3 magnitude earthquake, epicentered just off the west coast of the island of, generates enormous waves that crash into the coastal areas of a number of nations including, India,, the, Malaysia,, Bangladesh, and. The official death toll from the in the affected countries stands at approximately 230,000 people dead or still missing. • On October 8, 2005, the kills about 80,000 people. • On May 12, 2008, over 69,000 are killed in central south-west China by the, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the. The epicenter was 90 kilometers (56 mi) west-northwest of the provincial capital, Sichuan province.

Tropical cyclones, other weather, and bushfires [ ]. Flooding caused by in in 2005. • (June 8, 2005 – January 8, 2006) • July 7–11 – causes havoc over in the and in.

Dennis killed a total of 88 people and $3.71 billion in damages. • August 28–29 – made landfall in and devastated the city of and nearby coastal areas.

Katrina was recognized as the costliest natural disaster in the at the time after causing $108 billion in damages (this was later surpassed by in ). Fatalities were over 1,200. • November 30, 2006 – (Reming) brushes, and combined with the effects of, mudflows persisted and killed more than 1,200 people. • May 3, 2008 – causes extreme impact in, killing nearly 140,000 people in total with $10 billion in damages.

• June 21, 2008 – passes through,. During its passage, the ship sank, killing more than 800 people on board. • February 7–March 14, 2009 – The, the deadliest in Australian history, took place across the of during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, resulting in 173 people killed and more than 500 injured and around 7,500 homeless.

The fires came after recorded the (46.4 °C or 115.5 °F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires were ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit. • The cold snap of 2009–2010 caused disturbed life in Europe, Asia and America. A total of 21 people were reported to have died during the cold spell in the UK. In Russia, by 26 December 2009 was under 35 cm of snow, creating the largest December snowfall recorded in the city since 1881..

• On September 25–26, 2009 – brings flooding over in the, mostly in, kills nearly 700 people in total. Flood water levels reached a record of 20 ft (6.1 m) in rural areas. Epidemics [ ] is a serious and growing phenomenon in contemporary medicine and has emerged as one of the eminent public health concerns of the 21st century, particularly as it pertains to pathogenic organisms (the term is not especially relevant to organisms which don't cause disease in humans).

The outbreak of in the in 2001 caused a crisis in British agriculture and tourism. This saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across most of the British countryside.

Over 10 million sheep and cattle were killed. Between November 2002 and July 2003, an outbreak of (SARS) occurred in Hong Kong, with 8,273 cases and 775 deaths worldwide (9.6% fatality) according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Within weeks, SARS spread from Hong Kong to infect individuals in 37 countries in early 2003.: the reported 1,629 -related deaths in during 2005, indicating a MRSA-related mortality rate half the rate of that in the United States for 2005, even though the figures from the British source were explained to be high because of 'improved levels of reporting, possibly brought about by the continued high public profile of the disease' during the time of the. MRSA is thought to have caused 1,652 deaths in 2006 in UK up from 51 in 1993. People in Mexico City wear masks on a train due to the, April 2009 The 2009 (swine flu) is also considered a natural disaster. On October 25, 2009, U.S.

President officially declared H1N1 a Despite President Obama's concern, a PublicMind poll found in October 2009 that an overwhelming majority of New Jerseyans (74%) were not very worried or not at all worried about contracting the H1N1 flu virus. A study conducted in coordination with the University of Michigan Health Service is scheduled for publication in the December 2009 American Journal of warning that H1N1 flu can cause, surmised as a leading cause of death in this current pandemic. The study authors suggest physician evaluation via contrast enhanced CT scans for the presence of pulmonary emboli when caring for patients diagnosed with respiratory complications from a 'severe' case of the H1N1 flu. March 21, 2010, worldwide update by the U.N.' S World Health Organization (WHO) states that '213 countries and overseas territories/communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16,931 deaths.' As of May 30, 2010, worldwide update by World Health Organization (WHO) more than 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 18,138 deaths.

Footnote: The is a series of events that accompanied the contamination of the water supply of Walkerton, Ontario, Canada, by E. Coli bacteria in May 2000. Starting May 11, 2000, many residents of the community of about 5,000 people began to simultaneously experience bloody, gastrointestinal infections and other symptoms of E. Coli infection.

Seven people died directly from drinking the E. Coli contaminated water, who might have been saved if the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission had admitted to contaminated water sooner, and about 2,500 became ill.

In 2001 a similar outbreak in, caused by the protozoan affected at least 5,800 people. Non-natural disasters [ ] Vehicular wrecks [ ] • On July 25, 2000,, a aircraft, crashed into a hotel in just after takeoff from Paris, killing all 109 aboard and 4 in the hotel.

This was the only Concorde accident in which fatalities occurred. It was the beginning of the end for Concorde as an airliner; the type was retired three years later. • On August 12, 2000, the sank in the, killing all 118 men on board. • On October 8, 2001, two aircraft at the in,, killing all 114 people aboard both aircraft and 4 people on the ground.

• On November 12, 2001, crashed into a neighborhood in,, killing all 260 aboard and 5 people on the ground. • On May 25, 2002, broke up in mid-air and plunged into the, killing all 225 on board. • On July 1, 2002, a passenger airliner and a cargo plane above the town of. All 71 people on both aircraft died. • On July 27, 2002, a fighter jet at an in, killing 77 and injuring 543, making it the worst air show disaster in history.

• On September 26, 2002, the ferry sank off the coast of, killing at least 1,863 people. • On February 1, 2003, at the conclusion of the mission, the over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board. • On February 19, 2003, an military aircraft outside the city of, killing 275. • On August 14, 2005, crashed into a mountain north of, while flying from, to Athens, Greece.

All 115 passengers and six crew on board the aircraft were killed. • On August 16, 2005, crashed in a remote region of, killing 160. • On September 29, 2006, collided with a new business jet over the and crashed, killing all 154 people on board.

The Embraer aircraft made an emergency landing at a nearby military outpost with no harm to its seven occupants. • On December 30, 2006, the ferry sank in a storm in the, killing between 400 and 500 of the 628 people aboard. Three days later, crashed in the same storm, killing all 102 people on board.

• On July 17, 2007, skidded off the runway at and crashed into a nearby warehouse, leaving 199 people dead. • On February 12, 2009, crashed on approach in, killing 50. • On June 1, 2009, crashed into the southern after instrument failure disoriented the crew.

All 228 people on board perished. • On June 30, 2009, crashed into the near the islands. Of the 153 people on board, only 12-year-old survived.

Stampedes [ ] At least 29 human occurred in the 2000s. [ ] The 2005 occurred on August 31, 2005, when 953 people died following a stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge, which crosses the river in the capital of. Economics [ ]. Shanghai becomes a symbol of the recent of China. Between 1999 and 2009, according to the statistics for GDP: • The by almost doubled in size from U.S.

$30.21 trillion in 1999 to U.S. $58.23 trillion in 2009. This figure is not adjusted for inflation. Tenkuu No Shiro Rapyuta Download. By, world GDP rose 78%, according to the IMF. But inflation adjusted nominal GDP rose only 42%, according to IMF constant price growth rates. The following figures are not inflation adjusted nominal GDP and should be interpreted with extreme caution: • The United States (U.S.

$14.26 trillion) retained its position of possessing the world's largest economy. However, the size of its contribution to the total global economy dropped from 28.8% to 24.5% by nominal price or a fall from 23.8% to 20.4% adjusted for purchasing power.

• Japan (U.S. $5.07 trillion) retained its position of possessing the second largest economy in the world, but its contribution to the world economy also shrank significantly from 14.5% to 8.7% by nominal price or a fall from 7.8% to 6.0% adjusted for purchasing power. • China (U.S. $4.98 trillion) went from being the sixth largest to the third largest economy, and in 2009 contributed to 8.6% of the world's economy, up from 3.3% in 1999 by nominal price or a rise from 6.9% to 12.6% adjusted for purchasing power. • Germany (U.S. $3.35 trillion), France (U.S. $2.65 trillion), United Kingdom (U.S.

$2.17 trillion) and Italy (U.S. $2.11 trillion) followed as the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th largest economies, respectively in 2009. • Brazil (U.S.

$1.57 trillion) retained its position as the 8th largest economy, followed by Spain (U.S. $1.46 trillion), which remained at 10th. • Other major economies included Canada (U.S. $1.34 trillion; 10th, down from 9th), India (U.S. $1.31 trillion; remaining at 11th from 12th), Russia (U.S. $1.23 trillion; from 16th to 12th) Mexico (U.S. $875 billion; 14th, down from 11th), Australia (U.S.

$925 billion; from 14th to 13th) and South Korea (U.S. $832 billion; 15th, down from 13th). • In terms of in 2009, the ten largest economies were the United States (U.S. $14.26 trillion), China (U.S. $9.10 trillion), Japan (U.S. $4.14 trillion), India (U.S.

$3.75 trillion), Germany (U.S. $2.98 trillion), Russia (U.S.

$2.69 trillion), United Kingdom (U.S. $2.26 trillion), France (U.S.

$2.17 trillion), Brazil (U.S. $2.02 trillion), and Italy (U.S. $1.92 trillion).

• The average house price in the UK, increased by 132% between the fourth quarter of 2000, and 91% during the decade; but the average salary increased only by 40%. Globalization and its discontents [ ]. Of jobs, such as this in India, significantly increased during the decade as many moved their and from to. The removal of, the growth of,, the, the rapid development of and industries and the growth of the lead to a significant growth of during the decade as many significantly increased of (and increasingly, ) across national boundaries in and particularly in China and India, due to and mainly because the two countries which are the two most populous countries in the world provide huge pools from which to find talent and as because both countries are low cost sourcing countries. As a result of this growth, many of these developing countries accumulated and started investing abroad. Other countries, including the, Australia, Brazil and Russia, benefited from increased demand for their mineral and energy resources that global growth generated. The hollowing out of manufacturing was felt in Japan and parts of the United States and Europe which had not been able to develop successful innovative industries.

Opponents point out that the practice of offshore outsourcing by countries with higher wages leads to the reduction of their own domestic employment and domestic investment. As a result, many customer service jobs as well as jobs in the information technology sectors (,, and ) in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been or are potentially affected. While rose in the decade (partially driven by China's entry into the in 2001), there was little progress in the multilateral trading system. Continued to expand during the decade as emerging economies and developing countries, in particular China and South-Asian countries, benefited low wages costs and most often undervalued currencies. However, global negotiations to reduce tariffs did not make any progress, as member countries of the did not succeed in finding agreements to stretch the extent of. The of negotiations, launched in 2001 by the WTO to promote development, failed to be completed because of growing tensions between regional areas.

Nor did the in 2003 find a consensus on and. The comparative rise of China, India, and other developing countries also contributed to their growing clout in. In 2009, it was determined that the, originally a forum of finance ministers and central bank governors, would replace the as the main economic council. In 2007 a series of product recalls and import bans were imposed by the product safety institutions of the,, the, and against products manufactured in and exported from the of the (PRC) because of numerous alleged issues. Events in the confidence crisis included recalls on consumer goods such as,,,, and a ban on certain types of. Also included are reports on the poor crash safety of Chinese automobiles, slated to enter the American and European markets in 2008. This created adverse consequences for the confidence in the safety and quality of mainland Chinese manufactured goods in the global economy.

The age of turbulence [ ]. People queuing outside a bank branch in, United Kingdom on September 15, 2007, to because of the. The decade was marked by two financial and economic crises. In 2000, the burst, causing turmoil in financial markets and a in the developed economies, in particular in the United States. However, the impact of the crisis on the activity was limited thanks to the intervention of the central banks, notably the U.S.. Indeed,, leader of the Federal Reserve until 2006, cut the interest rates several times to avoid a severe recession, allowing an economic revival in the U.S.

As the Federal Reserve maintained low interest rates to favor economic growth, began to appear in the United States. In 2007, the rise in interest rates and the collapse of the housing market caused a wave of in the U.S. The subsequent caused a, because the subprime mortgages had been and sold to international banks and investment funds. Despite the extensive intervention of central banks, including partial and total nationalization of major European banks, the crisis of sovereign debt became particularly acute, first in, though as events of the early 2010s would show, it was not an isolated European example.

Economic activity was around the world in 2008 and 2009, with. In 2007, the UK's, delivered his final Mansion House speech as Chancellor before he moved into Number 10. Addressing financiers: 'A new world order has been created', Everyone needed to follow the City's 'great example', 'an era that history will record as the beginning of a new Golden Age'. Reactions of governments in all developed and developing countries against the economic slowdown were largely inspired. The end of the decade was characterized by a, while the influence and media popularity of left-wing economists and (Nobel Prize recipients in 2001 and 2008, respectively) did not stop growing during the decade. Several international summits were organized to find solutions against the economic crisis and to impose greater control on the financial markets.

The became in 2008 and 2009 a major organization, as leaders of the member countries held two major summits in and in to regulate the banking and financial sectors, and also succeeding in coordinating their economic action and in avoiding protectionist reactions. Energy crisis [ ]. In late May 2008 From the mid-1980s to September 2003, the inflation-adjusted price of a barrel of crude oil on NYMEX was generally under $25/barrel. During 2003, the price rose above $30, reached $60 by August 11, 2005, and peaked at $147.30 in July 2008.

Commentators attributed these price increases to many factors, including reports from the United States Department of Energy and others showing a decline in petroleum reserves, worries over, Middle East tension, and oil price speculation. For a time, geopolitical events and natural disasters indirectly related to the global oil market had strong short-term effects on oil prices. These events and disasters included missile tests, the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon, worries over nuclear plants in 2006 and. By 2008, such pressures appeared to have an insignificant impact on oil prices given the onset of the global recession. The recession caused demand for energy to shrink in late 2008 and early 2009 and the price plunged as well. However, it surged back in May 2009, bringing it back to November 2008 levels.

Many fast-growing economies throughout the world, especially in Asia, also were a major factor in the rapidly increasing demand for, which—along with fewer new petroleum finds, greater extraction costs, and political turmoil—forced two other trends: a soar in the products and a push by governments and businesses to promote the development of (known informally as 'green' technology). However, a side-effect of the push by some industrial nations to 'go green' and utilize was a decrease in the supply of food and a subsequent increase in the price of the same.

It partially caused the, which seriously affected the world's poorer nations with an even more severe shortage of food. The rise of the euro [ ]. The euro became the currency of members of the. A common currency for most E.U.member states, the, was established electronically in 1999, officially tying all the currencies of each participating nation to each other. The new currency was put into circulation in 2002 and the old currencies were phased out.

Only three countries of the then 15 member states decided not to join the euro (The United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden). In 2004 the E.U.undertook a major eastward enlargement, admitting 10 new member states (eight of which were former communist states). Two more, and, joined in 2007, establishing a union of 27 nations. The euro has since become the second largest and the second most traded currency in the world after the US$. As of October 2009, with more than €790 billion in circulation, the euro was the currency with the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in in the world, having surpassed the US$.

Science and technology [ ]. These images show water in a very young lunar crater on the side of the moon that faces away from Earth. • 2000 – Beginning on November 2, 2000, the has remained continuously inhabited. The helped make it the largest in history, despite one of the Shuttles in 2003. By the end of 2009 the station was supporting.

• 2001 – / begins with American, paying Russia US$20 million for a week-long stay to the. • 2004 – The successfully reached the surface of in 2004, and sent detailed data and images of the landscape there back to Earth.

Discovers evidence that an area of was once covered in water. Both rovers were each expected to last only 90 days, however both completely exceeded expectations and continued to explore through the end of the decade and beyond.

• 2004 – ' becomes the first privately built and operated to achieve. • 2006 – As a result of the discovery of, a object larger than, Pluto is demoted to a ' after being considered a planet for 76 years, redefining the solar system to have eight planets and three dwarf planets. • 2009 – After having analyzed the data from the lunar impact, in 2009 announced that the discovery of a 'significant' quantity of in the 's crater. • 2009 – studying the confirm at 13.7 billion years, discover that it will most likely forever without limit, and conclude that only 4% of the universe's contents are ordinary (the other 96% being still-mysterious,, and ). Technology [ ] Automobiles [ ]. In a • become widely popular making it possible to direct vehicles to any destination in real-time as well as detect traffic and suggest alternate routes with the use of. • Greater interest in due to and the potential exhaustion of.

Increase in popularity as a result. • The market, which became somewhat popular towards the middle of the decade, underwent major advances notably typified by such cars as the,, and the though by December 2010 they accounted for less than 0.5% of the world cars. On the 2009 Many more computers and other technologies were implemented in vehicles throughout the decade such as:,,, self-diagnosing systems, memory systems for car settings, back-up sensors and cameras, in-car media systems, MP3 player compatibility, drive compatibility,,,, cellphone connectivity, (Head-Up-Display) and. In addition, more safety features were implemented in vehicles throughout the decade such as:,,,,,, and the system (on all GM models). • Car styling in the 2000s differed throughout the decade. Many automakers strayed from the round and ovoid designs of the 1990s in favor of more boxy, angular designs – the and being notable examples.

Many vehicles, especially crossovers, were abstract and futuristic, a trend started by the successful and crossovers. Communications [ ]. The popularity of mobile phones and surged in the 2000s in the Western world. • The popularity of mobile phones and surged in the 2000s in the Western world. The advent of text messaging made possible new forms of interaction that were not possible before, leading to positive implications such as having the ability to receive information on the move. Nevertheless, it also led to negative social implications such as ' and the rise of traffic collisions caused by drivers who were distracted as they were.

One such problem was the fad of in, in which an individual assaults an unwitting victim while others record the assault (commonly with a or a ). Though the name usually refers to relatively minor acts of violence such as hitting or slapping the victim, more serious crimes such as,, and have been classified as 'happy slapping' by the media.

•, first launched in Japan with the in 1999, became increasingly popular with people in developed countries throughout the decade, thanks to improving cell phone capabilities and advances in mobile telecommunications technology, such as. • E-mail continued to be popular throughout the decade, and began to replace ' (also known, more neutrally, as paper mail, postal mail, land mail, or simply mail or post) as the primary way of sending letters and other messages to people in faraway locations, though it has been available since 1971.

Myspace was the first major. • arose as a new way for people to stay in touch no matter where they are, as long as they have an.

The first social networking sites were,,, and in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006, respectively. Myspace was the most popular social networking website until June 2009, when Facebook overtook Myspace in the number of American users.

•, which combine mobile phones with the features of and, first emerged in the 1990s but did not become very popular until late in the 2000s. Smartphones are rich in features and often have high resolution and. The first modern smartphone was the that was released on June 29, 2007 in the, and in the,,,, the and in November 2007. It was the first smartphone to not include a physical keyboard, solely utilizing a touch screen and a Home button.

• Due to the major success of broadband Internet connections, begins to gain popularity as a replacement for lines. Computing and Internet [ ] In the 2000s, the Internet became a mainstay, strengthening its grip on Western society while becoming increasingly available in the developing world. Becomes the Internet's most visited website. • A huge jump in globally – for example, from 6% of U.S. Internet users in June 2000 to what one mid-decade study predicted would be 62% by 2010. By February 2007, over 80% of U.S.

Internet users were connected via broadband and broadband internet has been almost a required standard for quality internet browsing. • became prominent by the end of the decade, as well as internet access in devices besides computers, such as mobile phones and gaming consoles. • Email became a standard form of interpersonal written communication, with popular addresses available to the public on, and. • became increasingly important as massive standardized and of spoken and written language became widely available to, just as documents from the paperless office were archived and retrieved with increasing efficiency using -based markup. • technology gained massive popularity with systems enabling users to share any audio, video and data files or anything in digital format, as well as with applications which share real-time data, such as traffic. • (virtual private networks) became likewise accessible to the general public, and data encryption remained a major issue for the stability of web commerce. Various digital audio players Boom in music downloading and the use of to quickly transfer music over the Internet, with a corresponding rise of portable digital audio players.

As a result, the struggled through the decade to find digital delivery systems for music, movies, and other media that reduce and preserve profit. • The replaces the as the preferred form of low-capacity mobile data storage. • In February 2003, announced floppy drives would no longer be pre-installed on home computers, although they were still available as a selectable option and purchasable as an aftermarket add-on. On 29 January 2007, stated that only 2% of the computers they sold contained built-in drives; once present stocks were exhausted, no more standard floppies would be sold. • During the decade,,,, [ – ], and (and later [ – ]) become the ubiquitous industry standards [ – ] in personal computer software until the end of the decade, when Apple began to slowly gain market share. • With the advent of the, dynamic technology became widely accessible, and by the mid-2000s, and became (with and ) the backbone of many sites, making programming knowledge unnecessary to publish to the web. Blogs,, and become common electronic dissemination methods for professionals, amateurs, and businesses to conduct typified by success of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia which launched on January 15, 2001, grew rapidly and became the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet as well as the best known in the world and the largest encyclopedia in the world.

• software, such as the operating system, the web browser and, gain ground. • became standard for reservations; stock trading; promotion of music, arts, literature, and film; shopping; and other activities.

In the late 2000s Facebook became the most popular in the world. During this decade certain websites and search engines became prominent worldwide as transmitters of goods, services and information.

Some of the most popular and successful online sites or search engines of the 2000s included,, Wikipedia,,, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. • More and more businesses began providing services, clients accessing bills and bank statements directly through a.

• In 2007 – The fast food chain announced the introduction of free high speed wireless internet access at most of its 1,200 restaurants by the end of the year in a move which will make it the UK's biggest provider of such a service. Electronics [ ] • (Global Positioning System) becomes very popular especially in the tracking of items or people, and the use in cars (see ). Games that utilize the system, such as, emerge and become popular.

• Green appeared on the market circa 2000, and are the most common type of DPSS lasers (also called DPSSFD for 'diode pumped solid state frequency-doubled'). In late 2004 and early 2005, came a significant increase in reported incidents linked to – see. The wave of incidents may have been triggered in part by 'copycats' who read press accounts of laser pointer incidents. In one case, David Banach of New Jersey was charged under federal anti-terrorism laws, after he allegedly shone a laser pointer at aircraft. • is the brand name adopted by the banking industries in the and for the rollout of the EMV smart card payment system for credit, debit and cards. Chip and PIN was trialled in, from May 2003, and as a result was rolled out nationwide in the United Kingdom in 2004 with advertisements in the press and national television touting the 'Safety in Numbers' slogan.

• In 2009, (a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer) opened its first UK branch at which service robots were the only option at the checkout, in Kingsley, – its US chain,, already operates several branches like this. • September 7, 2009, an EU watchdog warns of an 'alarming increase' in cash machine fraud by organised criminal gangs across Europe using sophisticated skimming technology, together with an explosion in ram-raiding attacks on.

ATM crime in Europe jumped to €485m (£423m) in 2008 following a 149% rise in attacks on cash machines. Gangs are turning to wireless technology to transmit card and (PIN) details to nearby and using increasingly sophisticated techniques to skim cards. More conventional smash-and-grab attacks are also on the rise, says Enisa, the. It reports a 32% rise in physical attacks on ATMs, ranging from ram raids to the use of rotary saws, blowtorches and diamond drills. It blames the increase on gangs from eastern Europe. Robotics [ ] • The used increasingly effective in war zones, such as. • Emerging use of, especially in medicine, particularly for.

• and home robotics advance in North America; 's ' is the most successful domestic robot and has sold 1.5 million units. Transportation [ ]. First flight of the Boeing 787, 15 December 2009 •, the two largest remaining airliner manufacturers, intensified, with pan-European outselling American for the first time during this decade. • Airbus launched the, the largest passenger aircraft ever to enter production. • The, the first mass-production aircraft manufactured primarily with, had its maiden flight. • Production of the, Boeing's largest single-aisle airliner, ended with no replacement.

• a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner or supersonic transport (SST), was retired in 2003 due to a general downturn in the aviation industry after the type's only crash in 2000, the in 2001 and a decision by, the successor firm of and BAC, to discontinue maintenance support. • December 9, 2005 – The double-decker bus was officially withdrawn from 51 years general service in the UK. In the, prospective mayor made several commitments to change the London Buses vehicle policy, namely to introduce a new Routemaster, and. • projects opened across Asia and Europe, and rail services saw record passenger numbers.

• The, the first full high-speed service in North America, started on the in 2000. • The opened, becoming the first in China. •, the first true high-speed line in the United Kingdom, opened in stages between 2003 and 2007, cutting travel times between Paris, Brussels and London considerably. • opened in 2007, connecting cities down the island's west coast. • opened in 2009, linking Amsterdam to the European high-speed network for the first time. Begin to displace • become widely popular due to rapid decreases in size and cost while photo resolution steadily increases. As a result, the digital cameras largely supplanted the and the integration into increase greatly.

Since 2007, digital cameras started being manufactured with the feature built in. [ ] • started becoming widely popular in the second half of the decade displacing. • enter the market and are then integrated into cellphones. [ ] • devices such as became popular, making it possible to record television broadcasts to a -based digital storage medium and allowing many additional features including the option to fast-forward through commercials or to use an automatic feature.

This feature created controversy, with major television networks and movie studios claiming it violates copyright and should be banned. With the commercial skipping feature, many television channels place advertisements on the bottom on the TV screen. [ ] • technology became widely available among cable users worldwide, enabling the users to select and watch video content from a large variety of available content stored on a central server, as well as gaining the possibility to freeze the image, as well as fast-forward and rewind the VOD content.

• DVDs, and subsequently, replace technology as the common standard in homes and at video stores. [ ] • Free Internet video portals like YouTube,, and Internet TV software solutions like became new popular alternatives to. • TV becomes available on the networks run by some mobile phone providers, such as 's. [ ] • ' becomes very popular towards the second half of the decade, with the increase of HD television channels and the conversion from analog to digital signals. Religion and Irreligion [ ]. Further information: is the name given to the ideas promoted by a collection of modern atheist writers who have advocated the view that 'religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises.'

The term is commonly associated with individuals such as,,, and (together called 'the of New Atheism' in a taped 2007 discussion they held on their criticisms of religion, a name that has stuck), along with, and. Several best-selling books by these authors, published between 2004 and 2007, form the basis for much of the discussion of New Atheism. Several groups promoting no religious faith or opposing religious faith altogether – including the,,, and the – have witnessed large increases in membership numbers in recent years, and the number of secularist at American colleges and universities increased during the 2000s. David Bario of the Columbia News Service wrote: Under the, organizations that promote abstinence and encourage teens to sign or wear have received federal grants., a subsidiary of a Pennsylvania evangelical church, has received more than $1 million from the government to promote abstinence and to sell its rings in the United States and abroad. Prominent events and trends during the 2000s: • Increasing and during the 2000s associated with the or with the increased presence of Muslims in the Western world. • In 2000, the Italian Supreme Court ruled that is a religion for legal purposes.

• In 2001, lawsuits were filed in the and, alleging that some priests had sexually abused minors and that their superiors had conspired to conceal and otherwise abet their criminal misconduct. In 2004, the tabulated a total of 4,392 priests and deacons in the U.S.

Against whom allegations of sexual abuse had been made. • The bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public (i.e. Government-operated) primary and secondary schools; and came into effect on 2 September 2004. • June 27, 2005, – The ruled on in a 5–4 decision, that a display at the courthouse in, and a Ten Commandments display at the courthouse—were unconstitutional: • France created in 2006 the first which led to a report registering a number of considered as dangerous. Supporters of such movements have criticized the report on the grounds of. Proponents of the measure contend that only dangerous cults have been listed as such, and state secularism ensures religious freedom in France.

• November 2009 –: A referendum, a constitutional amendment banning the construction of new Mosque minarets was approved, sparking reactions from governments and political parties throughout of the world. • 2009 – In 's third, he warns that a purely technocrat mindset where decisions are made only on grounds of efficiency will not deliver true development.

Technical decisions must not be divorced from ethics. Benedict discusses bioethics and states that practices such as abortion, eugenics and euthanasia are morally hazardous and that accepting them can lead to greater tolerance for various forms of moral degradation. He turns to another consequence of the technocratic mindset, the viewing of people's personalities in purely psychological terms at the exclusion of the spiritual, which he says can lead to people feeling empty and abandoned even in prosperous societies. Population and social issues [ ] • The decade saw further expansion of, with many European, Oceanic, and American countries recognizing civil unions and partnerships and a number of countries extending civil marriage to same-sex couples. The was the first country in the world to legalize in 2001. By 2010, was legal and performed in 10 countries worldwide, although only in some jurisdictions in and the.

• Population continued to grow in most countries, in particular in developing countries, though overall the rate slowed. According to United Nations estimates, world population reached six billion in late 1999, and continued to climb to 6.8 billion in late 2009. In 2007 the population of the United States reached 300 million inhabitants, and Japan's population peaked at 127 million before going into decline. • In a 2003 memo to a staff member, Britain's wrote: What is wrong with everyone nowadays? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities? This is to do with the learning culture in schools as a consequence of a child-centred system which admits no failure.

People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability. This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history. • is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. • In 2001, 46.4% of people in were living in extreme. Nearly half of all Indian children are undernourished, however, even among the wealthiest fifth one third of children are malnourished. • is the name of a number of programs in countries such as the United States, the and, to encourage the consumption of at least five portions of and each day, following a recommendation by the that individuals consume at least 400g of vegetables daily.

• The programme was introduced by the UK Department of Health in the winter of 2002–2003, and received some adverse media attention because of the high and rising costs of fresh fruit and vegetables. After ten years, research suggested that few people were meeting the target. • The is a fee charged on most motor vehicles operating within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in central London between 07:00 and 18:00 Monday to Friday. It is not charged at weekends, public holidays or between Christmas Day and New Year's Day (inclusive).[1] The charge, which was introduced on 17 February 2003, remains one of the largest congestion charge zones in the world.

• On 3 December 2003, passed legislation to progressively implement a in schools, school grounds, and workplaces by December 2004. On 29 March 2004, implemented a nationwide ban on smoking in all workplaces. In Norway, similar legislation was put into force on 1 June the same year. Smoking was banned in all public places in the whole of the United Kingdom in 2007, when England became the final region to have the legislation come into effect (the age limit for buying tobacco was also raised from 16 to 18 on 1 October 2007). From 2004 to 2009, the UK's Merseyside police officers, conducted 1,389 section 60 stop and searches (without reasonable suspicion), rising to 23,138 within five years.

• In 2005 the cost of alcohol dependence and abuse was estimated to cost the US economy approximately 220 billion dollars per year, more than cancer and obesity. • The number of prescribed by the in the United Kingdom almost doubled during one decade, authorities reported in 2010. Furthermore, the number highly increased in 2009 when 39.1 million prescriptions were issued compared with 20.1 million issued in 1999.

[ ] • In the United States a 2005 independent report stated that 11% of women and 5% of men in the non-institutionalized population (2002) take. The use of antidepressants in the United States doubled over one decade, from 1996 to 2005. • Antidepressant drugs were prescribed to 13 million in 1996 and to 27 million people by 2005.

In 2008, more than 164 million prescriptions were written. • In the UK, the number of weddings in 2006 was the lowest for 110 years. •, is a British chef,, media personality, known for his food-focused television shows and cookbooks. In 2006, Oliver began a formal campaign to ban unhealthy food in British schools and to get children eating nutritious food instead.

Oliver's efforts to bring radical change to the school meals system, chronicled in the series Jamie's School Dinners, challenged the junk-food culture by showing schools they could serve healthy, cost-efficient meals that kids enjoyed eating. Jamie's efforts brought the subject of school dinners to the political forefront and changed the types of food served in schools. • In 2006, nearly 11 million procedures were performed in the United States alone. The number of cosmetic procedures performed in the United States has increased over 50 percent since the start of the century. • In November 2006, the Office of Communications () announced that it would ban television advertisements for junk food before, during and after television programming aimed at under-16s in the United Kingdom. These regulations were originally outlined in a proposal earlier in the year. This move has been criticized on both ends of the scale; while the labelled the ban 'over the top', others have said the restrictions do not go far enough (particularly due to the fact that would be exempt from the ban).

On 1 April 2007, junk food advertisements were banned from programmes aimed at four to nine-year-olds. Such advertisements broadcast during programmes 'aimed at, or which would appeal to,' ten to fifteen-year-olds will continue to be phased out over the coming months, with a full ban coming into effect on 1 January 2009. • November 10, 2006 – referring to the UK's annual, British journalist and presenter condemned the attitude of those who insist remembrance poppies are worn. He claimed: there is a rather unpleasant breed of poppy fascism out there. • In January 2007, the announced that major UK retailers, including,,,,,, and intended to cease adding trans fatty acids to their own products by the end of 2007.

• In October 2008 reported on the further expansion of killings of albinos to the region of. Body parts of the victims are then smuggled to Tanzania, where they are used for witch doctor rituals and potions.

Albinos have become 'a commercial good', commented Nicodeme Gahimbare in Ruyigi, who established a local safe haven in his fortified house. • A 2009 study, found a 30% increase in Chinese over 7 years. [ ] • continued to expand during the decade, mainly in. New diseases of animal origin appeared for a short time, such as the in 2003 and the in 2007. [ ] was declared a pandemic by the in 2009. Environment and climate change [ ] and became household words in the 2000s. Predictions tools made significant progress during the decade, UN-sponsored organisations such as the gained influence, and studies such as the influenced public support for paying the political and economic costs of countering climate change.

The global temperature kept climbing during the decade. In December 2009, the (WMO) announced that the 2000s may have been the warmest decade since records began in 1850, with four of the five warmest years since 1850 having occurred in this decade. The WMO's findings were later echoed by the and the. Scientific studies on helped establish a consensus. Major natural disasters became more frequent and helped change public opinion. One of the deadliest heat waves in human history happened during the 2000s, mostly in Europe, with the killing 37,451 people over the summer months. In February 2009, started in Victoria, Australia, lasting into the next month.

While the fires are believed to have been caused by arson, they were widely reported as having been fueled by an excessive that was due in part to climate change. It has also been alleged that climate change was a cause of increased storms intensity, notably in the case of.

International actions [ ] Climate change became a major issue for governments, populations and scientists. And its causes made significant progress, as were refuted. Decisive reports such as the and the almost established a climate change consensus. NGOs' actions and the commitment of political personalities (such as former U.S. Vice President ) also urged to international reactions against climate change. Documentary films and may have had a decisive impact. [ ] Under the auspices of The the (aimed at combating global warming) entered into force on February 16, 2005.

As of November 2009, the protocol. In addition The helped coordinate the efforts of the international community to fight potentially disastrous effects of human activity on the planet and launched negotiations to set an ambitious program of carbon emission reduction that began in 2007 with the.

However, the representatives of the then 192 member countries of the United Nations gathered in December 2009 for the failed to reach a binding agreement to reduce carbon emissions because of divisions between regional areas. However, as were to make up a potential market, some countries made large investments in, and. Many governments launched national plans to promote sustainable energy. In 2003, the European Union members created an, and in 2007 they assembled a to reduce further their carbon emission and improve their energy-efficiency. In 2009, the United States Obama administration set up the, a plan to create millions of jobs in sectors related to. The requires local authorities in to provide every household with a separate collection of at least two types of recyclable materials by 2010.

Culture [ ] Architecture [ ]. And popular throughout the early and mid 2000s. Fashion trends of the decade drew much inspiration from 1960s, 1970s and 1980s styles.

Hair styles included the bleached and for boys and men and and straight hair for girls and women continued, as well as many other hairstyles from the mid-late 1990s. Made chunky highlights fashionable in 2002 on and lasted until about 2007. Both women and men highlighted their hair until the late 2000s. The decade started with the futuristic Y2K fashion which was built on hype surrounding the new millennium. This dark, slinky style remained popular until 9/11 occurred and casual fashions had made a comeback once again.

Baggy were extremely popular among both sexes throughout the early and mid 2000s until about late 2007. Were the dominant pant style for women until about 2006 when fitted pants began rising in popularity. The late 1990s-style remained popular throughout the early 2000s, but by 2003 boot-cut pants and jeans became the standard among men until about 2008.

The 2000s saw a revival of 1980s fashion trends such as velour in the early 2000s (an early 1980s fashion), and tapered pants in the later years (a late 1980s fashion). Became a staple clothing for young women and men. By 2009 with the playing a large part in the popularization of skinny jeans. Mass brands and launched their own lines for skinny jeans. Throughout the early and mid 2000s, adults and children wore shoes. The company used many celebrities to their advantage, including,,, and. By the late 2000s, flatter and more compact shoes came into style as chunky sneakers were no longer the mode.

' chic' refers to a minor fashion trend that arose in the mid-2000s in which young individuals adopted stereotypically 'geeky' fashions, such as oversized black, /, and. The glasses—worn with non-prescription lenses or —quickly became the defining aspect of the trend, with the media identifying various celebrities as 'trying geek' or 'going geek' for their wearing such glasses, such as, and. Meanwhile, in the sports world, many players wore 'geek glasses' during, drawing comparisons to. Fashion became popular amongst teenagers from 2005 to 2009, associated with the success of bands associated with the subculture (such as,, and ). The style is commonly identified with wearing black/dark coloured skinny jeans, T-shirts bearing the name of emo music groups and long side-swept bangs, often covering one or both eyes. The that emerged in the mid-late 2000s drew much inspiration from Emo style. Was popular throughout the 2000s with clothing and shoe brands such as,,,,,,,, and.

Followers of Hip Hop wore oversized shorts, jewelry, NFL and NBA jerseys, pants, and T-shirts. By the late 2000s this gave way more to fitted and vibrantly colored clothing, with men wearing skinny jeans as influenced by the and movements. [ ] In cosmetic applications, a Botox injection, consisting of a small dose of, can be used to prevent development of by paralyzing. As of 2007, it is the most common cosmetic operation, with 4.6 million procedures in the United States, according to the. The highest-grossing film of the decade was (2009) The 20 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and.

The top 15 highest-grossing of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing),, film series, film series, film series, film series, film series, film series, film series' and, and, and, film series' and, film series, film series' and film series. Journalism [ ] • 'It was, we were soon told, 'the day that changed everything', the 21st century's defining moment, the watershed by which we would forever divide world history: before, and after, 9/11.' ~ • The 's foreign correspondent on (March 15, 2010): I do think that he and the newspapers he's run have introduced an uglier side, an abusive side, into journalism and life in general in this country. He says this Murdochisation of national discourse, which was at its height in the UK with The Sun in the 1980s, has now migrated to the US. 'Murdoch encouraged an ugly tone, which he has now imported into the US and which we see every day on, with all its concomitant effects on American public life – that fierce hostility between right and left that never used to be there, not to anything remotely like the same extent.' • October 2001, Canadian author and social activist known for her political analyses 's book titled: On September 11, [2001] watching TV replays of the buildings exploding over and over again in New York and Washington, I couldn't help thinking about all the times media coverage has protected us from similar horrors elsewhere.

During the, for instance, we didn't see real buildings exploding or people fleeing, we saw a sterile Space Invader battlefield, a bomb's-eye view of concrete targets – there and then none. Who was in those abstract polygons? We never found out.

• May 15, 2003, 's (which grew during the late 1990s and 2000s to become the dominant network in the United States. ) political commentator 's 'The Talking Points Memo', from his television: So, Talking Points urges the Pentagon to stop the P.R. Dance and impose strict rules of conduct for the Iraqi people to follow.

Law-abiding Iraqis want that. It's only the gangsters and the fanatics who don't. Shoot looters to kill, and aim well. And that's The Memo. • A poll released in 2004, by the for the People and the Press, found that 21 percent of people aged 18 to 29 cited (an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday) and (an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show) as a place where they regularly learned presidential campaign news. By contrast, 23 percent of the young people mentioned, or 's nightly news broadcasts as a source.

When the same question was asked in 2000, Pew found only 9 percent of young people pointing to the comedy shows, and 39 percent to the network news shows. One newspaper,, has The Daily Show's host, listed atop a list of the 20 media players who will most influence the upcoming presidential campaign. Random conversations with nine people, aged 19 to 26, waiting to see a taping of The Daily Show, revealed two who admitted they learned much about the news from the program. None said they regularly watched the network evening news shows. •, is a British national daily newspaper.

In August 2004, for the, The Guardian's daily 'G2' supplement launched an experimental letter-writing campaign in, an average-sized county in a. G2 editor bought a voter list from the county for $25 and asked readers to write to people listed as undecided in the election, giving them an impression of the international view and the importance of voting against US President. The paper scrapped 'Operation Clark County' on 21 October 2004 after first publishing a column of complaints from Bush supporters about the campaign under the headline 'Dear Limey assholes'. The public backlash against the campaign likely contributed to Bush's victory in Clark County. • March 2005 – Twenty MPs signed a British House of Commons motion condemning the presenter for saying that 'a sort of Scottish Raj' was running the UK. Mr Paxman likened the dominance of Scots at to past British rule in India. • August 1, 2007 – and entered into a definitive merger agreement.

The US$5 billion sale added the largest newspaper in the United States, by circulation to 's news empire. • August 30, 2008 – three years before the, wrote: 'Those who have responded to the tragedy of knife crime by calling for police crackdowns ought to take note.

The criminalisation of a generation of black youth will undoubtedly lead to explosions of anger in the future, just as it did a generation ago with the riots that swept Britain's inner cities.' • is an American and, eight-time best-selling author,, and. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public and private events. As the 2008 US presidential campaign was getting under way, Coulter was criticised for statements she made at the 2007 about presidential candidate: I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word ',' so I'm. So, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards, so I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions. • In December 2008, magazine named as its for his historic candidacy and election, which it described as 'the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments'. • November 5, 2009 – The UK's tabloid newspaper ran the headline on its front page: 'ARMY DEATHS: FIND THE BASTARD AND KILL HIM' Music [ ].

Is considered one of the most successful artists of the decade. Who sold 32 million albums and winning multiple awards, including the in. In the 2000s, the Internet allowed consumers unprecedented access to music. The Internet also allowed more artists to distribute music relatively inexpensively and independently without the previously necessary financial support of a record label.

Music sales began to decline following the year 2000, a state of affairs generally attributed to unlicensed uploading and downloading of sound files to the Internet, a practice which became more widely prevalent during this time. Business relationships called —an arrangement in which a company provides support for an artist, and, in exchange, the artist pays the company a percentage of revenue earned not only from sales of recorded music, but also live performances and publishing—became a popular response by record labels to the loss of music sales attributed to online copyright infringement. In the 2000s, reached a commercial peak and heavily influenced various aspects of popular culture and, in general, dominating the musical landscape of the decade. In fact, the best-selling musical artist of the decade was the American, who sold 32 million albums. Other popular hip hop artists included,,,,,,,,,,, and. The genre was extremely diverse stylistically, including subgenres such as and. Many hip hop albums were released to widespread critical acclaim.

Magazine named Eminem as the artist with the best performance on the Billboard charts and named as the female artist of the decade. In the UK, the biggest selling artist of the decade is *and the biggest selling band of the decade is. American recording artist on June 25, 2009, creating the since the of in 1997.

On August 25, 2001, Haughton – an American recording artist, dancer, actress and model and eight others, were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single 'Rock the Boat'. On April 25, 2002, an American: rapper, dancer, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the / girl group by her stage name Left Eye, was killed in a car crash in,. On October 30, 2002, Jason William Mizell () from the hiphop group, was shot and killed in a Merrick Boulevard recording studio in Jamaica, Queens. Innovator, inventor, performer and guitar virtuoso also died on August 12, 2009, at the age of 94. In 2002, signed a record-breaking £80 million contract with. So far it is the biggest music deal in British history.

In, the and entered the mainstream, with bands such as,,, and seeing commercial success. Other genres such as,,,,,, and, in particular,, also achieved notability during the decade.

The 2000s gave rise a new trend in popular music in the proliferation of. In the early 2000s, autotune had been common with artists such as *NSYNC and Eiffel 65. Towards the end of the decade, electronic dance music began to dominate western charts (as it would proceed to in the following decade), and in turn helped contribute to a diminishing amount of rock music in the mainstream. Also saw a decline in the mainstream in the late 2000s because of electronic music's rising popularity.

According to, music styles during the 2000s changed very little from how they were in the latter half of the 1990s. The 2000s had a profound impact on the condition of. Recent advents in digital technology have fundamentally altered industry and marketing practices as well as players in unusual rapidity. According to Nielsen Soundscan, by 2009 CDs accounted for 79 percent of album sales, with 20 percent coming from digital, representing both a 10 percent drop and gain for both formats in 2 years.

Is a style of music that emerged from Bow,, in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage,, and dancehall. Pioneers of the style include English rappers, Wiley, and. Michael Jackson's final album,, released on October 30, 2001, and costing $30m to record, was the most expensive record ever made. The general socio-political fallout of also extended to popular music. In July 2002, the release of English musician 's song ' proved to be controversial. It was critical of and in the lead up to the. The video showed a cartoon version of Michael astride a nuclear missile in the Middle East and Tony and in bed with President Bush.

The are an American country music band. During a concert ten days before the, lead vocalist Maines said, 'we don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States [] is from Texas'. The positive reaction to this statement from the British audience contrasted with the that ensued in the U.S., where 'the band was assaulted by talk-show ', while their albums were discarded in public protest. The original music video for the from American pop singer 's album was banned as music television stations thought that the video, featuring violence and war imagery, would be deemed unpatriotic since America was then. Was a string of that took place on 2 July 2005, in the states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and held at the in, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of. Run in support of the aims of the UK's campaign and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty, ten simultaneous concerts were held on 2 July and one on 6 July.

On 7 July, the G8 leaders pledged to double 2004 levels of aid to poor nations from US$25 billion to US$50 billion by the year 2010. Half of the money was to go to Africa. More than 1,000 musicians performed at the concerts, which were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks. In November 2006, the ' ' tour was declared the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning $437 million. In December 2009, a campaign was launched on by, from, which generated publicity in the UK and took the 1992 track ' to the slot in the, which had been occupied the four consecutive years from 2005 by winners from the TV show.

Rage's spoke to upon hearing the news, stating that: '.We want to thank everyone that participated in this incredible, organic, grass-roots campaign. It says more about the spontaneous action taken by young people throughout the UK to topple this very sterile pop monopoly.' During the late 2000s, a new wave of culture took place, boosted by the release of software such as LittleSoundDJ for the. This new culture has much more emphasis on live performances and record releases than the demoscene and tracker culture, of which the new artists are often only distantly aware.

Reunions [ ] are an English band, formed in in 1978. The original five members reunited in the early 2000s. On February 23, 2003, reunited to perform in public for the first time in a decade, singing 'The Sound of Silence' as the opening act of the.

On 9 May 2006, British five-piece vocal pop returned to the recorded music scene after more than ten years of absence, signing with. The band's comeback album, Beautiful World, entered the UK album chart at no.

On 10 December 2007 English rock band reunited for the one-off Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at in London. According to Guinness World Records 2009, Led Zeppelin set the world record for the 'Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert' as 20 million requests for the reunion show were rendered online.

Print media [ ] • The decade saw the steady decline of sales of print media such as books, magazines, and newspapers, as the main conveyors of information and advertisements, in favor of the Internet and other digital forms of information. • News blogs grew in readership and popularity; cable news and other online media outlets became competitive in attracting advertising revenues and capable journalists and writers are joining online organizations. Books became available online, and electronic devices such as threatened the popularity of printed books. • According to the (NEA), the decade showed a continuous increase in reading, although circulation of newspapers has declined. Radio [ ] The 2000s saw a decrease in the popularity of radio as more listeners starting using MP3 players in their cars to customize driving music. Receivers started selling at a much higher rate, which allowed listeners to pay a subscription fee for thousands of ad-free stations. Was the largest provider of radio entertainment in the United States with over 900 stations nationwide.

Many radio stations began their content over the Internet, allowing a market expansion far beyond the reaches of a. During the 2000s, faced its toughest competition ever for., satellite radio, and were all new options for commuters. Had a steady decline in popularity throughout the 2000s but stayed prevalent in most vehicles, while became virtually obsolete.

• August 27, 2001 – shock jock Star (real name Troi Torain) was suspended indefinitely for mocking R&B star 's death on the air. By playing a tape of a woman screaming while a crash is heard in the background. Close to 32,000 people signed a 'No More Star' online petition. • In a 2008 edition of his (American) radio show, commented on Australian actor 's death the day before. He opened the segment with funeral music and played a clip of 's famous line 'I wish I knew how to quit you' from Ledger's film; he then said 'Well, I guess he found out how to quit you.' Among other remarks, Gibson called Ledger a 'weirdo' with 'a serious drug problem'. The next day, he addressed outcry over his remarks by saying that they were in the context of jokes he had been making for months about Brokeback Mountain, and that 'There's no point in passing up a good joke.'

Gibson later apologized on his television and radio shows. See also: in the 2000s saw the sharp increase in popularity of, with numerous competition shows such as,, and attracting large audiences, as well as documentary or narrative style shows such as,,,, among many others. The decade has since seen a steady decline in the number of sitcoms and an increase in reality shows, crime and medical dramas, such as,, and, paranormal/crime shows like (2005–2011) and (2005–2010), and action/drama shows, including and. Comedy-dramas became more serious, dealing with such hot button issues, such as drugs, teenage pregnancy, and gay rights.

Popular comedy-drama programs include,, and. Adult-oriented animated programming also continued a sharp upturn in popularity with controversial cartoons like * (1997-–present) and (1999–2002, 2005–present) along with the longtime running cartoon (1989–present). The decade also saw the return of prime time soap operas, a genre that had been popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, these include; (1998–2003) (2003–2007), (2003–2012), Desperate Housewives (2004–2012) was perhaps the most popular television series of this genre since and in the 1980s, although started in 1994 ended its run in 2009 after 15 years. •: founder, despite being an outspoken opponent of censorship, claims that 's use of language and racial slurs represents the depravity of Western civilization, and is 'dangerous to the democracy'. The series was repeated in 2001 along with a new show.

It tackled paedophilia and the moral panic in parts of the British media following the murder of, focusing on the name-and-shame campaign conducted by the News of the World in its wake. The in 2002, made a split for the brands and, also known as the. This resulted in the WWE's purchase of their two biggest competitors, WCW and ECW. The brand extension would last until 2011.

It also saw the rise of names like,,, and. The between the and became the first World Series to be played in the month of November in the wake of the.

Between the and the became the first Super Bowl to be played in the month of February, also in the wake of the. The in the UK has been subject to much since its launch in September 2004.: Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004, from, on the television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which singer 's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by singer for about half a second, in what was later referred to as a 'wardrobe malfunction'. The incident, sometimes referred to as Nipplegate, was widely discussed. Along with the rest of the halftime show, it led to an immediate crackdown and widespread debate on perceived indecency in broadcasting. [ ] January 2005 – was the subject of controversy, when its UK television broadcast on elicited 55,000 complaints. The most complained about television event ever. In May 2005, UK viewers inundated the with complaints regarding the continuous airing of the latest advertisements.

The intensity of the advertising was unprecedented in British television history. According to, bought 73,716 spots across all TV channels in May alone — an average of nearly 2,378 slots daily — at a cost of about £8 million, just under half of which was spent on. 87% of the population saw the Crazy Frog adverts an average of 26 times, 15% of the adverts appeared twice during the same advertising break and 66% were in consecutive ad breaks. An estimated 10% of the population saw the advert more than 60 times. This led to many members of the population finding the crazy frog, as its original name suggests, immensely irritating. (the world's longest-running children's television programme) rigged a phone-in competition supporting the 'Shoe Biz Appeal' on 27 November 2006. Download Lagu Breaking Benjamin I Will Not Bow Mp3. The person who appeared to be calling in the competition was actually a Blue Peter Team Player who was visiting that day.

The visitor pretended to be a caller from an outside line who had won the phone-in and the chance to select a prize. The competition was rigged due to a technical error with receiving the calls.

In July 2007, Blue Peter was given a £50,000 fine, by the (OFCOM) as a result of rigging the competition. Is a reality television game show series, originally created in the, and licensed globally to other countries. In its 2009 series, celebrity chef killed, cooked and ate a rat.

The Australian investigated the incident and sought to prosecute D'Acampo and actor for after this episode of the show was aired. Was fined £1,600 and the two celebrities involved were not prosecuted for animal cruelty despite being charged with the offense by the Police. Although there were less in this decade than there were in the 1990s, the 2000s still saw many popular and notable sitcoms, including,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and, among many others. A trend seen in several sitcoms of the late 2000s was the absence of a. [ ] The decade also saw the rise of premium cable dramas such as,,,, and. The critic wrote a critique of Mad Men in which he also claimed this last decade was a golden age for episodic television, citing Battlestar Galactica,, and the network series as especially deserving of critical and popular attention. Ended series [ ] The PBS series aired its final episode on August 31, 2001.

Two years later, its host and creator died from stomach cancer. Was a long-running television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. Was an American television period sitcom based on the decade.

The 1970s retro style permeated the 2000s decade. The show ended on May 18, 2006. Is a British soap opera set in,.

The series began on the launch night of on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003. In January 2004, the cancelled the show (which had run for 18 years), after an article entitled 'We owe Arabs nothing' written by its host was published in the tabloid newspaper. Is an American sitcom which aired on from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. Friends received positive reviews throughout its run, and its series finale (') ranked as the as well as the most watched single television episode of the 2000s on U.S. Television., a spin-off TV series of (that ended in 1993), is an American sitcom that was broadcast on for eleven seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004 (only a week after the broadcast of the final episode of Friends). It was one of the most successful and popular series in television history, as well as one of the most critically acclaimed comedy series.

On 20 June 2006, after 42 years, British show was formally cancelled and it was announced that the last edition would be broadcast on 30 July 2006. Is a British television sport program. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the 's longest running sports shows. After 30 years, British television drama series (originally made by the ) was cancelled and the last episode was shown on 15 September 2008. Series returns [ ] The is a British children's programme, produced by BBC television, first transmitted in 1952, and repeated regularly for more than twenty years, which was produced in a new version in 2000., also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom.

The show has had an extended and sporadic run. The first three series were broadcast on the from 1992 to 1995, followed by a series finale in the form of a two-part television film entitled The Last Shout in 1996. Creator Jennifer Saunders revived the show for a fourth series in 2001.

Is a spinoff of the classic series (1983–1986), developed by DiC in cooperation with Haim Saban's SIP Animation and produced from 2001 to 2003. There are 52 episodes. Basil Brush from 1962 to 1984, from 2002 to 2007. Is a fictional anthropomorphic red fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television.

He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet. Is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its cancellation in 2011. Is a British science fiction television programme produced by the. The show is a significant part of British popular culture. The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. After an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot in the form of a television film, the programme was relaunched in 2005. Is a British, based on the American game show.

The programme ran on from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002 before being revived by the same channel in 2006 under the title of All Star Family Fortunes. Revived episodes are currently being shown on on Sunday evenings and have been presented by since 2006. Is a entertainment series, produced by for, and broadcast between October 10, 1992, and January 1, 2000.

It is an adaptation of the American format. The success of the British series spawned further adaptations in and Sweden.

The series was revived in, before again being cancelled in 2009. Is a British sitcom which began in 1988. The first series began on 27 September 1990 and continued for seven more, ending on 18 June 1999 and returning with a one-off special on 23 December 2008. Is a British which primarily comprises ten series (including a ninth mini-series named Back To Earth) of a television that aired on between 1988 and 1993 and from 1997 to 1999 and on in 2009. Primetime Emmy Award for Best Drama. Was released in 2000 and became the of the decade and of all time.

The world of video games reached the of video game consoles including the, the, and the which started technically in 1998 with the release of Sega's, although some consider the true start in 2000 with the release of Sony's PlayStation 2. The 6th gen remained popular throughout the decade, but decreased somewhat in popularity after its 7th gen successors released technically starting in November 2005 with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360, however, most people agree that 2006 is a 6th gen year since most games being released still released on 6th gen including the Xbox even though the 360 was already released, and the PlayStation 3 and the Wii didn't release until late 2006 which most people consider to be the true start of the 7th gen.

It reached in the form of like the, the and by the mid-2000s. The number-one-selling game console of the decade, the, was released in 2000 and remained popular up to the end of the decade, even after the was released.

The was discontinued in January 2013., originating in the mid-to-late 1990s, become a popular PC trend and virtual online worlds become a reality as games such as (2001), (2002), (2003), (2003), (2004), and (2004), (2007) and (2008) are released. These worlds come complete with their own economies and social organization as directed by the players as a whole. The persistent online worlds allow the games to remain popular for many years., premiered in 2004, remains one of the most popular games in PC gaming and is still being developed into the 2010s. The series sparked a fad of Mature-rated video games based on including gang warfare, drug use, and perceived 'senseless violence' into gameplay.

Though violent video games date back to the early 1990s, they became much more common after 2000. Is a 2008 developed. Prior to and since its release, the game has been subject to a great deal of controversy (see ). The series was extremely popular during the 2000s, the diverse shooter franchise released multiple games throughout the 2000s that were positively critically reviewed and commercially successful. Was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful franchise that released two games during the mid-late 2000s.

Was released in 2006 and was the first installment to the franchise, it was universally critically acclaimed and went on to sell over 5 million copies. The second installment to the franchise was released in 2008 and received widespread critical acclaim and also went on to sell over 5 million copies. October 29, 2007 – – a controversial stealth-based published by was suspended by (Rockstar's parent company) when it was refused classification in the United Kingdom, Italy and Ireland, and given an Adults Only (AO) rating in the United States. As neither nor allow AO titles on their systems, this effectively meant the game was banned in the US. The sixth generation sparked a rise in first person shooter games led by, which changed the formula of the first person shooter. Started and was on top of the charts until its successor, (for Xbox 360), took over.

Some other popular first-person shooters during the 2000s include the series, with 's release in 2002 bringing the first game in the series to 6th generation consoles. In the late 2000s, motion controlled video games grew in popularity, from the PlayStation 2's to Nintendo's successful console. During the decade 3D video games become the staple of the video-game industry, with 2D games nearly fading from the market. Partially 3D and fully 2D games were still common in the industry early in the decade, but these have now become rare as developers look almost exclusively for fully 3D games to satisfy the increasing demand for them in the market.

An exception to this trend is the indie gaming community, which often produces games featuring 'old-school' or retro gaming elements, such as and. These games, which are not developed by the industry giants, are often available in the form of downloadable content from services such as 's or Apple's and usually cost much less than more major releases.

Was released in Japan and later the United States, where it became immensely popular among teenagers. Another music game,, was released in North America in 2005 and on both the music and video games industries. It became a worldwide billion-dollar franchise within three years, spawning several sequels and leading to the creation of a competing franchise, Rock Band. Japanese media giant released 9 out of the 10 top selling games of the 2000s, further establishing the company's dominance over the market. Had declined in popularity so much by the late 1990s, that revenues in the United States dropped to $1.33 billion in 1999, and reached a low of $866 million in 2004. Furthermore, by the early 2000s, networked gaming via computers and then consoles across the Internet had also appeared, replacing the venue of head-to-head competition and social atmosphere once provided solely by arcades. The arcades also lost their status as the forefront of new game releases.

Worldwide, arcade game revenues gradually increased from $1.8 billion in 1998 to $3.2 billion in 2002, rivalling sales of $3.2 billion that same year. In particular, arcade video games are a thriving, where arcades are widespread across the country. The US market has also experienced a slight resurgence, with the number of video game arcades across the nation increasing from 2,500 in 2003 to 3,500 in 2008, though this is significantly less than the 10,000 arcades in the early 1980s. As of 2009, a successful arcade game usually sells around 4000 to 6000 units worldwide., usually styled as SEGA, is a Japanese video game software developer and an and development company headquartered in, with various offices around the world. Sega previously developed and manufactured its own brand of from 1983 to 2001, but a restructure was announced on January 31, 2001, that ceased continued production of its existing home console, effectively exiting the company from the home console business. Is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK.

The brand originated in 1990 with the release of an arcade system, the and its home console counterpart, the. The Neo Geo brand was officially discontinued in 2004. Game of the Year from the starting in 2001 (awards are given to games of the previous calendar year). See also: • The decade saw the rise of digital media as opposed to the use of print, and the steady decline of printed books in countries where had become available. • The deaths of,, and other authors marked the end of various major writing careers influential during the late 20th century. • Popular book series such as, and 's ' ' (consisting of,, and ) saw increased interest in various genres such as,,, and, as well as in general. • (also known as Japanese comics) became popular among the international audience, mostly in English-speaking countries.

Such popular manga works include, and. • On July 19, 2001, English author and former politician,, was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice at a 1987 libel trial. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment. • is a novel. It is an official sequel to Scottish author and dramatist 's, authorised by, to whom Barrie granted all rights to the character and original writings in 1929.

McCaughrean was selected following a competition launched in 2004, in which novelists were invited to submit a sample chapter and plot outline. See also [ ].