Once known more as a pastoral backwater, these days Fairfax County describes itself in no uncertain terms as the "trade and technology hub of the US East Coast" and the "home of the Internet".
With more than 4000 high tech companies locating their offices there, the telecommunications infrastructure carrying more than half the world's Internet traffic, and the highest median income in the US, there may be more to the county's boast than civic pride.
According to Gygar, Fairfax's hosting of the 1998 WCIT was a major catalyst in the county's becoming an IT hub, and he is eager for a repeat performance.
And Gygar is not alone in this quest. His efforts are backed by private and public sector organisations, and strong support from the State Government.
Bruce Linn, recently appointed executive director of EDS in South Australia, can attest to the close relationship between government and industry.
"We have been involved with the government in Adelaide for five and a half years now," says Linn. "And as well as being internationally recognised, the outsourcing arrangement between our company and the government in this state has fed back into the local IT business community, many of whom now do far more work through EDS than they ever did with the government previously."
According to Linn, EDS came into the state as part of a government plan based on the logic that the presence of a couple of large multinational players would ultimately stimulate the rest of the industry.
"To a large extent their goals have been achieved because that growth has certainly been achieved," Linn said.
However, the South Australian Government's attempts to provide fertile ground for the seeds of a South Pacific Silicon Valley are not limited to industry-based projects. A heavy emphasis has also been placed on the role of education, from the primary level, through to tertiary training.
This focus on education is represented by institutions such as the Technology School of the Future, where teachers and students alike are introduced to core technological skills, from Web design to robot building and programming. The school's manager, John Travers, points out that it provides kids with more than an exciting day outside of their normal classes.
"While we have groups of school children through all the time, as well as holiday groups, we also have a heavy focus on training teachers so that they can take the skills they need back to the school and the class room, and train other teachers as well," Travers said.
