It's Britney, Comrade

With all the talk in Washington, DC lately over the need to renew the application of America's soft power - diplomacy, economy, cultural and social attractiveness - nothing spreads American culture better than music. The entire world is already listening to U.S. pop music - rap, R&B, hard rock and other styles, and more and more groups and musicians are aspiring to be as cool and popular as American singers of various genres.

So it comes as no surprise that Russians decided to clone Britney Spears - her music, her style, her moves- and apply it to their own cultural benefit. In 2007, a new group called "Serebro" (Silver) won third place at Eurovision - a prestigious European annual song contest. "Serebro"s English-language entry - "Song #1"- was well received:

The similarities with our own Ms. Spears are all too apparent. The three female soloists do a great job singing in that all-too-familiar Britney style. And half-way through the song, the girls and their dancers break into a Michael Jackson-style medley.

So while the American audiences may be cooling towards their once-idols, the rest of the world still longs for the pop-culture that seems to define what is - or is not - cool. And isn't that the definition of soft power?