Brenin    603373 Mon, 02 Feb 04 02:45 AM Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask these questions; if it isn't, please tell me where I should ask them. Thank you. Does "public school" mean exactly the same thing in Great Britain as it does in the United States of America? Is the value of "billion" exactly the same in the United States of America as in Great Britain? Brenin Brenin

	Gerard van Wilgen    603437 Mon, 02 Feb 04 07:00 PM "Is the value of "billion" exactly the same in the United States ofAmerica as in Great Britain?" "These days, in most contexts, yes." But using "billion" might cause potential misunderstandings. I would recommend using "thousand million" or "milliard" for ten to the 9th power. Numbers like "billion" and "trillion" for larger quantities are better avoided at all, which is no so difficult because such huge numbers are rather meaningless to most people. Gerard van Wilgen -- www.majstro.com (On-line translation dictionary / Enreta tradukvortaro) www.travlang.com/Ergane (Free translation dictionary for Windows / Senpaga tradukvortaro por Windows) Gerard van Wilgen Translation

	Adrian Bailey    603447 Mon, 02 Feb 04 07:10 PM "America" "These days, in most contexts, yes." "But using "billion" might cause potential misunderstandings. I would recommend using "thousand million" or "milliard" for ten to the 9th power." Recommend to whom? The OP won't get much from using "milliard" apart from blank looks. And I don't think your post will have much effect on the British media. Adrian Adrian Bailey Whom