It need not be from outer space, even from a plane Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with more than 2,000 lakes, numerous waterways and lush green inbetween looks particularly attractive. Together with its 350- kilometer-long Baltic coastline, this Northeastern state is the major venue for water sports enthusiasts in the whole of Central Europe. Small wonder, then, that tourism is the state’s main source of income. To make certain this remains the case, around one fifth of the state’s total surface area is a nature conservation area. Away from the tourist centers on the coast, shipbuilding and agriculture are otherwise the main sources of employment in this, the country’s most thinly populated state. Northern Europe’s two oldest universities and several innovative R&D facilities make the state one of the most dynamic regions for high-tech, bio-tech and medi-tech.