IBM Europe is developing a New form of teleworking, with employees in Paris working from six satellite offices on the ouskirts of the city, delegates at the 'Think Global, Act Local' workshop heard.

Peter Wingrave, IBM design and workplace strategy manager said the company has 80,000 employees across Europe, most of whom are teleworkers.

The Paris employees can 'touch down' and exchange ideas at the 'proximity' buildings, which have been created in densely populated, outlying areas of the city.

And they are spared the long commute into the city centre. Wingrave said the pilot was working well in Paris because the city is compact. In Milan, which is much more decentralised, IBM's main operations have been moved outside the city centre.