Gambling in Monte Carlo gets a breath of fresh air.

Once again the world's best entrepreneurs gathered in Monaco at the weekend.

Every year, national winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition meet in Monte Carlo to find out who is judged to be the world's best entrepreneur. This year Chinese businessman Cao Dewang was announced as winner at a press conference in the Sporting d'Hiver on Saturday night.

We're sure you don't need Monaco IQ to tell you that Jenson Button won the Monaco Grand Prix yesterday.

Yes, it's finally here. The Monaco Grand Prix practice sessions start tomorrow and the race itself is on Sunday.

Here at Monaco IQ we've been helping our sister site maBoum to prepare for the most glamorous, exciting F1 race of the season. If you've not visited maBoum yet and you're going to be in Monaco this weekend, then you should take a peek.

Here at Monaco IQ, we're great advocates of public transport and regularly report stories about local bus and rail services.

In addition to traditional forms of transport, the Principality also boasts a solar powered "bateau bus" (boat bus) that carries travelers from one side of the port to the other. It became a year-round service in December 2008 after transporting 52 000 passengers during the year, twice the number carried in 2007. A third of its users are locals.

From whichever direction you approach Monaco, one of the first things you notice are the cranes. There's always something being built.

Although there was some consternation when Prince Albert announced the suspension of the planned land reclamation into the sea, that certainly didn't apply to other construction work. Quai Kennedy, the new luxury apartment building overlooking the F1 circuit and the port is completed, and next door, the Yacht Club work will start afresh after the Grand Prix race ends.

Monaco's parliament has set up a think tank to consider the future of Monaco in a changing world.

Results of the 2008 census were published on Monday.

The resident population of Monaco is changing. According to figures released by the Mairie this week, the local Monegasque population is increasing, as are the number of British residents. Making way for this growth is the decrease in French and Italian nationals.

Good news for Monaco's tourist industry.

The Easter break has brought some optimism for companies and workers in the Principality's tourist industry. Over the holiday weekend, there was an 8% increase in hotel room occupation compared to last year. Most tourists were Italian and French, but the British are still visiting in spite of the weak pound and general economic pessimism in the UK.

Despite the financial gloom, there was plenty to be cheerful about at last month's CleanEquity Conference.

For a second year, the invitation-only conference for emerging environmental technologies took place in Monaco. Prince Albert presented the awards to the most promising companies in 3 areas of excellence in the field of environmental technology.