Switzerland is a stranger to conflict, having opted out of World War II in a state of neutrality, but some visitors bring their own battle with them.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was in the remote Swiss town of Davos this week as part of his ongoing mission to rally international help to drive the Taliban from his homeland.

Though reminiscent of the snow-capped peaks that loom over Kabul, the ski slopes are a far cry from the scarred Afghan landscape – a peaceful picture postcard scene that would set anyone’s mind at ease.

But Karzai remains on his guard.

CNN visited the Afghan leader in his rented Swiss mountain villa overlooking Davos for an interview that drove home the constant state of peril in which he has spent every day since he took office after the 2001 fall of the Taliban.

Before entering the villa, the CNN crew was marched 100 meters along a deserted snow-covered road by a team of security guards. Bags were unpacked, video cameras were scrutinized and each of us given a thorough body check.

The equipment is a particular concern for Afghans, who in the days prior to the Taliban’s defeat, lost iconic Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Masood when a suicide bomber posing as a journalist detonated a bomb in a TV camera.

Only after we have all been checked -- under scrutiny from almost a dozen Afghan security guards, Swiss police and special agents -- are we admitted to the building, where Karzai is waiting.

The level of vigilance surrounding the president is one of the best reminders that his country is still in a state of conflict – one that has come perilously close to ending the life of its leader on several occasions.

Karzai himself is, as always, cucumber cool, but clearly pensive.

There is a clear contrast the following day when the CNN crew sets up to film Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

Although this takes place within the security surrounding the World Economic Forum in Davos, the event is a markedly relaxed affair.

Fukuda himself is all smiles, joking with the crew when the cameras stop rolling. Asked if he was still enjoying being Japanese prime minister, he grins sheepishly, and replies: “I’m suffering.”

Clearly not as much as Karzai.

By CNN.com Digital Producer Barry Neild in Davos, Switzerland

People who don’t do MySpace, Facebook or similar sites usually moan that they prefer real life social networking, deeming avid fans losers who chat to their pretend friends in secluded dingy bedrooms.

While the rest of us are “poking” or posting on “funwalls”, they are out pressing the flesh, chewing ears, slipping business cards into wallets and no doubt harping on about people who waste their time on the Internet.

The two worlds collided this week at the meeting of big business cheeses and global leaders that is the World Economic Forum. A seminar titled: “Add a Friend: Accept or Decline” lured online community leaders out into the schmoozing open.

So the question is: Can online social networkers do it in real life?

The answer is yes. With gusto.

There was a raucuous hubbub of conversation at the seminar as key figures from business and blogosphere came face-to-face.

As far as I know there was no poking, but plenty of gentle ribbing from networking rivals -- a rather flushed Reid Hoffman, chairman of LinkedIn, absorbed a heckling as he outlined ideas for improving Internet interaction.

Plenty of actual LOL followed blogging legend Robert Scoble’s account of getting booted off Facebook for violating the site’s rules and abusing the trust of his 5,000 “friends”.

Much of the discussion focused on how social sites are miscast as work distractions and how they can in fact drive the workplace, with anecdotes of businesses tapping innovative skills beyond company boundaries through the Internet.

Given the professions of those attending the seminar, it was no surprise that some were blogging the event as it happened, cutting edge cell phones and computers glowing from every table.

But at the end of the evening, these digital pioneers abandoned their electronics and indulged in a bit old school networking – swapping business cards.

From CNN.com Digital Producer Barry Neild in Davos

Almost as heavy as the snowfall that greeted participants at this Swiss Alpine resort, was the cloud of anxiety hovering over the start of this year's World Economic Forum.

Stock markets around the globe were badly shaken by the potential spread of a credit crisis from the U.S. This was not lost on Middle Eastern markets which started selling-off Sunday, their first day of trading, and carried through Tuesday.

The dramatic, and what some saw as a panicked, reaction by the Federal Reserve, to cut interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point sent mixed signals. What is the Fed seeing that others might not? Certainly the signal is that the bottom certainly has not been found on Wall Street, and for that matter some of the European banks as well.

That, however, does not mean the rest of the world should freeze in its tracks and that growth should come to a halt. The Middle East in fact is coming off some of the fastest growth in three decades. The excess liquidity of $400 billion each year from oil prices in the $80 per barrel range has changed the dynamics of the region and what these players are doing with their capital.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that $800 billion will be put into infrastructure in the region. Tall buildings, new financial centers, energy cities, new university hubs -- they are all being built. But the region can only absorb so much capital.

This is where the new darlings of Davos come in: The sovereign wealth funds. In case you missed it, the funds were the subject of front page articles on both Business Week and the Economist over the weekend. The danger from my vantage point here is that there is a lot of discussion about moving fast, taking advantage of buying opportunities (like Citigroup & Merrill Lynch), but also about competing with each other. There is a hint that some of the players are getting ahead of themselves.

Giant Stimulus Plan

There is potential here in Davos to bring like-minded players together for the greater good of the global economy. While the White House debates the merits of the $150 billion stimulus package, there is $1.5 trillion available in the Gulf. That is a serious stimulus package. As respected economist and old Davos hand Fred Bergsten rightly said, this liquidity could lead to a re-coupling of east and west. The investment money from the Gulf, China and Singapore will help avert a recession in the U.S. if, and a big "if" here, the funds are welcomed.

Some anxiety about this was expressed this morning by Mervyn King, now of Standard Chartered Bank, but formerly head of the Bank of England. He said that the funds should agree to a code of conduct for transparency or risk being labelled "irresponsible." That certainly does not set the tone for a collegial Davos-like discussion on closing the gap between those in need of capital and those who hold it right now.

Another Davos veteran, Arif Naqvi, Chief Executive of Abraaj Capital sees this in two stark colors: Black and white. The region is sitting on two commodities in great demand right now: Oil and cash.

Those commodities put the 200 or so players from the Middle East in an enviable position within the halls of the conference center; now if we can only work on the politics so the money can get to work in the right way.

-- From CNNI Marketplace Middle East Presenter John Defterios

World Economic Forum blogger Loic Lemeur on the big topics that will drive Internet chat at the Davos 2008 meeting.

There’s a relaxed feel on the train to Davos, as normally staid business travelers eschew polished shoes for hiking boots on their way to the World Economic Forum.

With a dress-down policy, free-thinking agenda and pretty ski resort backdrop, the annual meeting could be viewed as something of a Sundance festival for suits, drawing comparisons to the leftfield Utah film festival.

Yet behind the scenes at Davos, there’s a far-from-relaxed security operation that has seen hundreds of police deployed to ensure that only those invited to Davos get in.

A simple stroll through this snowy town involves several checks as friendly but firm officers in uniform scrutinize ID badges, looking to weed out undesirables. Checks at the entrance to the main buildings increase by the hour.

The steely security is by no means over the top, with world leaders, leading business figures and a smattering of celebrities converging on the town’s hotels and conference halls.

Terror risks aside, there is however little likelihood of the kind of messy and sometimes violent protests that have dogged other global finance meetings, thanks to Davos’ remote location.

Two (expensive) train rides from the nearest major city or a long and slippery drive through snow-covered roads keep the town at arm’s length from many.

Those resourceful enough to reach here then face another problem – where to stay. Expensive at the best of times, accommodation is at a premium during the five-day forum, with hotels sold out months in advance.

For residents who remain in town for the forum, the huge police presence must seem a little ironic. Crime rates are low in Switzerland and even lower in tiny resort towns like Davos, where displays of extreme wealth are everywhere.

This has one happy consequence on the train to Davos, where my traveling companion – a professional photographer covering the forum – absentmindedly left a rucksack containing more than $20,000 worth of equipment.

In many places, the bag would have vanished in seconds, its contents sold on.

Here, its battered exterior is probably viewed with disdain from well-heeled passengers, and it arrives safely unmolested at the station’s lost property department.

-- From CNN.com Digital Producer Barry Neild in Davos

It's Tuesday, it's snowing, I'm already cold ... it can only be Davos.

Technically the World Economic Forum doesn't begin until Wednesday, but in the mind of its thousands of participants and millions of observers, the debate has already begun.

Whereas the "R" word was merely "on everyone's lips" last week, here it will be the lingua franca; a common currency uniting politician and economist, film star and human rights campaigner. And if there was ever a time to sandwich "economic" back between the bread and butter of "world" and "forum," it'd be now.

What should have been a gradual start to proceedings for CNN evolved quickly into a decision to immediately ramp up coverage following a rout of epic proportions on global equity markets. The gathering storm: gathered. Time to sideline cliches and focus on the task in hand. Richard Quest and Todd Benjamin are already putting the world to rights; paving the way for the likes of Bill Gates, Bono and Queen Rania ... All of whom we'll talk to in the coming days.

The snow is coming down heavier and heavier right now and the circus is moving into town, train by train, car by car, bus by bus. Not two by two, but 4x4 and with snow chains. Helicopters have been put off by the snow, but the security is already a thick blanket enveloping Davos. Soldiers drill in the snow while workers drill inside the conference building, still adding the finishing touches to the corridors of power. An Alpine town of barbed wire and beauty. You get the sense that participants will be knee deep in two things this week.

Some say this Swiss ski resort is a last resort, a chance to brainstorm and solve what lies in wait for our world. Others consider the Forum a sort of mental chewing gum, refreshing and stimulating but ultimately always discarded. Talking off camera with WEF's founder Klaus Schwab he was quick to point out that last year's debate highlighted the rising damp of the US subprime market, showing that Davos is "on the money."

Afterwards I wondered why, with so many of the financial elite gathered, it took them more than six months to act? Some of those who discussed the issue last year have now lost their jobs to subprime; their skiing will be done elsewhere at this time of year.

So as the resort gradually fills with both participants, snow and expectation in equal measures, I may opt for a brief chance to sleep. My one window of skiing opportunity closed by the virtual white out. Still, already I am feeling the first clutch of fatigue, and I sense that as the peace of Davos is disturbed by economic disquiet, an extra dose of rest is exactly what the doctor ordered. Perhaps the global economy could do with the same. Ben Bernanke, can you hear me?

-- From CNNI Senior Planning Editor James Partington