Business 2.0: 12 startups to launch now - Aug. 1, 2006: "International borders used to be the biggest barrier to entry for Americans interested in starting a business overseas. But today, as more nations ease trade regulations and restrictions on foreign investment, borders are more like invitations.

Take real estate, for instance: According to research firm Jones Lang LaSalle, Americans spent more than $12 billion on foreign commercial real estate ventures last year, almost double the amount they invested in 2004. Meanwhile, American investment in overseas businesses has nearly doubled, too, since 2002. "