Navigate the tricky byways of international business etiquette with the following on-line guides: http://www.executiveplanet.com/community Advice on politesse in Germany, Brazil, Malaysia, Japan, Israel and other top trading partners of the U.S. and Canada. The site covers business entertaining, making an appointment, appropriate attire, gift-giving, and chitchat. Note that in Spain, for instance, it's best to avoid the topic of bullfights; it's so revered that even the slightest criticism could sound like an insult. Stick, instead, to soccer talk.
http://www.stylusinc.com/business/india/cultural--tips.htm Takes an almost spiritual approach to the topic as it applies to business in India. For example: "Never squirm for it is offensive to resist the personal and human touch of friendship."
http://www.EtiquetteIntl.com/firstgetgood.htm Etiquette International, a consultancy, offers articles and tip sheets on effective networking and cocktail conversation.
You can also e-mail EI's founder, Hilka Klinkenberg, about protocol matters that have you flummoxed.
www.webofculture.com/refs/gestures.html Diagrams of gestures culled from a bestseller on international body-language taboos. Did you know it's considered vulgar to make the "okay" sign in Russia, or that in Finland salt is slid across the table and not passed hand to hand?
http://www.asiasource.org Based in New York, this is the on-line resource of the non-profit Asia Society. Covers, say, corporate protocol in Vietnam or public holidays in Palau. Just scroll down to "Resources." A dictionary covers phonetical translations in Thai, Bengali, Malay, Japanese and Chinese.