----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Though I think a British citizen probably could give the right answer I'll try to give an answer from the sources available to me. "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern ireland" 'Great Britain' is the geographical name of that island of the British Isles which comprises England, Scotland and Wales (so called to distinguish it from 'Little Britain' or Brittany). By the act of Union, 1801, Great Britain and Ireland formed a legilative union as the United Kingdom of Grat Britain and Ireland. Since the separation of Great Britain and Ireland in 1921 Northern Ireland remained within the Union which is now the United Kingdom of Great-Britain and Northern Ireland. THE United Kingdom (UK) does not include the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man which are direct dependencies of the Crown with their own legislaive and taxation systems. England and Wales form an administrative entity, with some special arrangements for Wales. Local government: There are two separate systems, one for England and Wales and one for Sotland ... Source: The stateman's year-book : statistical and historical annual of the states of the world for the year 1991-1992 / ed. by Brian Hunter. - 128th ed. - [London] : M[acmillan Press, 1991]. Though England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may send separate teams to UEFA, FIFA (both soccer) and rugby tournaments I think this is not because they are seen as independent states but because the British have a bias as inventors of these games. No other sources support the fact that these countries internationally may be recognized as political independent entities, though for historical reasons they are (partly) independent entities within British political reality. I hope the British can solve this riddle. Though we use these four as separate entities in our regional classification the reasons for this special handling are obscure. I would certainly like to know what the truth is! Jan Smits Mapcurator Royal Library, National Library of The Netherlands [log in to unmask]