The year 2000 is a remarkable milestone--a time to look at our accomplishments and mistakes, to take all that we have learned and are continuing to learn, and make the future a better time and place.

That is why we are calling the twenty-first century, on whose threshold we now stand, The Opportunity Century. (See the special section following page 26 in the print edition.

For this special report, the editorial staff of THE FUTURIST has sorted through hundreds of trends in Demography, Economics, Environment, Government, Society, and Technology to identify 50 areas of opportunity in the years ahead.

In addition, we solicited ideas from members through our Web site, and we have included in the report several of the most thoughtful responses we received. We invite you to continue sending your ideas to our Web site at www.wfs.org/Ideas.htm

Also in this issue, British futurist Ian Pearson presents an overview of technological developments and their potential impacts in the next 20 years: You'll be able to download your brain and outlive your own body, perhaps delivering your own eulogy! Virtual environments will be widespread: Direct links to your nervous system will enhance the visual and aural simulations. "Intelligent" cookware may lead to another new social problem: kitchen rage. (See "Technology Timeline," page 14 of the print edition.

THE FUTURIST was launched in 1967--before personal computers, the Web, and e-mail changed all our lives. We are committed to continuing to produce a magazine that meets the needs of World Future Society members in the Information Age.

That is why we are pleased to announce a new supplement to THE FUTURIST in the form of an electronic newsletter to be distributed monthly to the entire membership.

The electronic newsletter will allow us to send members information of a more time-sensitive nature than has been possible with the magazine--and it will allow THE FUTURIST to return to bimonthly publication (six issues a year), effective with this issue.

Our experiment with greater frequency (10 issues a year) ran through most of 1998 and all of 1999 and confirmed that bimonthly frequency is best for us. Time-pressed readers prefer to get their information in the more-concentrated bimonthly issues rather than spread out over a larger number of separate issues. So you can expect fewer but thicker issues during the coming months. We also hope to keep improving the quality of our information.