Arcotect Limited

The machine-guns on Daniel Ng's desk are the first hint that he is not your typical Hong Kong chief executive.

The hand grenade sitting beside his laptop computer grabs your attention as your eyes wander across a collection of scale-model racing cars on the window sill.

But the clincher would be spotting Mr Ng, 35, and a few dozen of his java programmers sweating away at their mandatory exercises in Victoria Park at 7.30 am.

"We work long hours and if my staff do not have fun, they will die," said Mr Ng, who lists chairman and chief executive of DCP Holdings and chief architect of Arcotect among his titles. "I want people on my team to think about fun when they think about working for me." The guns are from a recent game of paintball, a sport Mr Ng encourages his staff to play whenever they get the urge to blow off steam.

Alex Leung, 40, is also far from typical.

The founder and chief of InfoTalk turned a fascination with Star Wars' robots C3PO and R2D2 into a passion for helping humans and computers talk to each other.

"When I saw the robots and people communicating and understanding one another, I found the idea very attractive," he said.

He helped develop and market the world's first trilingual (English, Cantonese, Putonghua) speech-recognition technology. It is not quite Luke Skywalker yet, but it is heading in that direction.

Similar to many young businessmen, Mr Ng and Dr Leung, both educated in North America, consider themselves to be breaking away from the traditional Asian approach to business. They say they have been influenced by their experiences abroad, and by the changing attitude towards work in the new economy, where the mind is valued over muscle.

"Our style at InfoTalk is to combine the best of the Hong Kong way of doing business with the best of the Western way of doing business," Dr Leung said.

The two men were among those named last week as "Outstanding Young Digi-Persons" as part of the Digital 21 Power for Youth campaign organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and the Hong Kong Junior Chamber (HKJC).

Other recipients of the award included: Ng Cheung Shing, chairman and chief executive, C&T Holdings; Lau Tak Wah, chairman, Secure Site Technology; Leung King Man, director, Hong Kong Seniors IT Advocates; Ng Kit Chong, chief executive, 303 Company; and Chan Kim Chung, chief technical officer, Systek IT.

Dr Leung was also given the New World Mobility M-Commerce Application Award in recognition of his work.

HKPC's executive director Thomas Tang said that as the SAR moved to a knowledge-based economy, there was an increasing need to encourage young people to be interested in technology.

Events such as the awards encouraged young entrepreneurs.

The Digital 21 Power for Youth campaign was launched last year to promote a wider adoption of IT among Hong Kong's youth.

Meanwhile, the HKPC has announced a new community initiative, the "Digi Rainbow", to help under-privileged people improve their lives through technology. Under the programme, a team of volunteers will provide computers and training to communities where these services are not usually available.