Global capitalism has worked many wonders, but where in the free world can one see 10,000 children dancing in synchronisation, dressed as eggs? Such weirdness makes North Korea, a basket-case state, a must for a certain sort of backpacker. Tourist visas have been available for years; there is even a Lonely Planet chapter on the country. Some 2,000 Westerners will visit in 2007-a tiny number, but about four times the total in 2002. Tours are tightly marshalled so that only highlights such as the "Mass Games" performance, home of the dancing eggs, are widely reported. Visitors must normally provide references proving that they are not journalists. But details are seeping out: blogs, Facebook groups and customis-able Google Earth maps have made reporters of everyone and offer channels for unauthorised news from the closed country.
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