Leaders of Japan, the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Russia, Canada and Italy gather at Lake Toyako, Hokkaido, for the Group of Eight summit.

Certainly, the G8 nations are important, but many people now question whether this select group can effectively plot the necessary courses to resolve the thorny problems facing the world. Shouldn't participation, it is asked, be expanded to a greater number of countries?

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed that China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and others be added. There is also the view that Arab and Islamic states should be included, as well as the more radical position that only the United States and China are needed as a Group of Two.