HERE for your approval is a parlour game I have invented to while away the periods when the weather is less than summery, you can't afford a night out and are tired of trying to navigate through the unspeakable dross which clogs TV schedules.

You could play on your own, though I recommend you invite a cross section of similarly bored friends and/or neighbours. I can pretty much guarantee animated conversation, an exchange of views and some interesting answers. While filling in time, it will also provide an insight into people's opinions and general awareness of what is considered important in their lives.

The game revolves around one simple question: who, in your opinion, is the most powerful person in the world? I say "simple" but qualify that by reluctantly conceding that the answer depends on what "world" each player considers he or she is currently occupying.

Those whose awareness of global affairs is based on what they perceive as international co-operation and rule of law would nominate Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations. But they would be hard pushed to explain why certain decisions to intervene in a state's sovereignty were taken unilaterally and others, involving genocide and war crimes of unimaginable ferocity, continue unhindered by UN intervention.

President George W Bush, leader of the only superpower on the planet, would be the nominee of many. However, America's foreign policy is questionable to say the least and deeply flawed in the eyes of many, concerned that its military might, in the hands of Washington "hawks", is a threat to everyone, not just its perceived enemies.

I'm old enough to be grateful for Uncle Sam's intervention in World War Two and loathe to join in the criticisms levelled at America but I couldn't nominate George Dubya. The continuing desperate situation in Iraq indicates that his decisions, and those of his closest advisers, were seriously adrift.

Football enthusiasts would unquestionably nominate Russian oil billionaire Ramon Abramovitch, whose mind-numbing spending at Chelsea seems to have gobbled up just about every star player in Europe and beyond. There's always the possibility that Ramon will become tired with his new plaything if events don't pan out the way he wants. And what will he do with the Premiership Trophy, European Cup, FA Cup and every other cup? Wear them on his charm bracelet?

The list is pretty well endless but my nominee is Osama Bin Laden. Since 9/11, which he masterminded, Bin Laden has had security services searching the globe for him without success. He's probably still in a cave in Afghanistan yet manages to get video tapes to Arab TV stations, issuing threats against "infidels" in Saudi Arabia and promising attacks on oil installations. The effect is panic in financial capitals across the world and escalating fuel prices at the pumps. He could wreck Western economies without firing a shot. That's power. Unwelcome. Deeply troubling. But power, nonetheless.