He acknowledged as much last week when queried about what became of the various trinkets he has received in connection with his government appointment.

On his annual statement of economic interests, filed with the state Ethics Commission, Faith reported that he received 30 presents in his first year as the state's top business recruiter.

Among them: a pair of silk pajamas valued at $20 from a government official in China; a pair of $25 cufflinks from Peter Beattie, premier of Queensland, Australia; two sets of $30 drink coasters from economic development officials in Aiken and Lexington counties; and two $30 wooden figurines, named Rana and Shinta, from the Indonesian consulate general.

"I've given away almost everything I've received," Faith assured The Post and Courier.

Commerce staffers were among the recipients. Members of the Faith family also shared in the largesse.

"My mom got a piece of Japanese ornamental silk cloth," he said.

Faith said he saved the top-ticket item, a "nice" $300 digital camera from Fuji, for his young son.

"That's his first camera," he said.

All kidding aside, the ceremonial exchange of small gifts is an important part of the mating dance that is economic development, especially when dealing with executives and government officials overseas, Faith said.

"You lose face if you went and they had a gift for you and you didn't have a gift to give them," he said.

Governments usually present dignitaries with an item representative of their region, Faith said. Businesses typically give an example of one their top products. "People are very proud of what they do," he said.

As they prepare to jet off to Europe for their latest trade mission, the Commerce Department and the governor's office are loading up on Palmetto State flags and medallions embossed with the South Carolina seal. "I'm sure we'll come back with lederhosen and other sorts of fabulous gifts," Faith said.

G-8: A BUST?

The Group of Eight summit was a bust for Savannah and Georgia.

Restaurants and retail shops did not see nearly the business boom state officials predicted, and quite a few said they would have done better if the diplomatic meeting had been held somewhere else.

On top of that, economic development efforts to sell the virtues of the Peach State to journalists went largely unrewarded. Six panel discussions hosted by area business and political leaders were pretty much ignored by the national and international media. A series of four-hour tours highlighting different industries in Georgia were also sparsely attended. State officials canceled the excursions after two days.

Rest assured, though, that the $200,000 Georgia officials and businesses spent on a media cocktail party did not go to waste.

WIRED NATION

The number of high-speed Internet lines in the United States jumped 42 percent last year, according to a semiannual report recently released by the Federal Communications Commission.

Cable companies made the biggest gains in the high-speed sector and now make up 58 percent of the 28.2 million high-speed connections in U.S. homes and businesses. About 34 percent of the remainder are DSL lines and the rest are on traditional phone lines.

About three-quarters of the country (geographically) had more than one high-speed provider to choose from, but 7 percent of U.S. zip codes couldn't get souped up Internet if they wanted it.

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