Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, for one, is ready for a change. Soon after his election Aug. 7, Uribe announced plans to conduct most of his foreign policy meetings virtually, using video-conference technology.

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Uribe's top priorities are reducing his country's budget deficit and streamlining government decision-making. To that end, he chose virtual diplomacy over more traditional ways of meeting with other leaders.

The idea hit after a tour he made through Europe earlier this year, during his run for president.

"A flight of almost 14 hours to another continent for a meeting that lasts only half an hour is very tiresome, it means we have to move a lot of people around, and it represents a big cost. If we use video conferences, we save time and money," Uribe's press secretary, Ricardo Galán, told the Colombian weekly El Espectador.

Colombia's money troubles are dire. The country's fiscal deficit could reach 4.1 percent of its gross national product this year, surpassing the 2.6 percent mark proposed by the International Monetary Fund.

"We will have to make a big effort to overcome this. A severe administrative reform will be made in the nation," Uribe said in a recent speech. "We have to save money in what has been the traditional bureaucratic spending of our country."

Uribe counts virtual diplomacy as a means to reduce regular expenses.

The administration will conduct some regular meetings with ministers, governors and members of congress via video conference as well.

The practice helps resolve another hot-button issue: security.

Uribe has taken several measures to crack down on local guerilla groups, including a new tax hike to fund his government's attempts to end the 38-year-old civil war. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) launched an attack the day Uribe took office last month that left 21 dead and more than 40 people injured.

The first meetings via video conference will take place with diplomats from Germany and Denmark; no meeting date has been set.