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Plans for a national body to tackle research fraud have been published by doctors and scientists concerned that foul play is undermining the good name of science. The Committee on Publication Ethics (Cope) agreed at a meeting in October that concerted action was needed.

Reported instances of bribery and corruption increased sharply last year on campuses throughout Russian Federation. More than 1,000 incidents of bribe-taking and related abuses by administrators and professors were confirmed in 2001, an increase of 32 percent over the 2000 levels.

For many years now in China, plagiarism among professors and cheating among students have been acceptable practices in a society that has shown little awareness of intellectual property-rights protection almost anything can be copied or counterfeited if the price is right.

Corruption in admissions procedure, the sitting of exams and the allocation of scholarships is rampant in Chinese universities. One positive outcome of a recent plagiarism scandal is the design of a code of conduct for students and professors by Beijing's University.

Politicians obliged universities to hire friends in return for help in ensuring a steady flow of funds. By forging documents and bribing appropriate officials, university staff secure larger retirement checks than they are entitled to and retire before the customary age.