The Taipei-based British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO) Thursday called on local companies and experts in nanotechnology to participate in the 2009 U.K. Nano Forum and Emerging Technologies scheduled to open in November in London to explore business opportunities in the nano industry. 'Nanotechnology is considered the pioneering technology of the 21st Century. With the U.K. manufacturing more than 600 kinds of products using nano materials and having obtained more than 1,500 patents in the sector, the influence of British nanotechnology on global economic industries in the near future should not be ignored,' the BTCO said in a newsletter. Thanks to cooperation with the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) and the Taiwan Nanotechnology Industry Development Association, the BTCO said, over the past three years it has successfully helped Britain's National Physical Laboratory, the University of Plymouth and nanotechnology- related companies such as Nanoco Technologies and Ilika Technologies Ltd. to explore business opportunities in Taiwan. It has also helped broker international cooperation projects between British universities with the ITRI, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and National Taipei University of Technology, according to the BTCO. The British trade office is therefore calling on local companies and academic experts interested in exploring bilateral trade and procurement opportunities, seeking strategic partners and expanding foreign markets to participate in this year's Nov. 3-4 forum. A pass to the forum, flight tickets and accommodation expenses will be covered by the BTCO, the newsletter went on, adding that more information is available at www.uknano.biz. 