Rajiv Jain had an interesting dilemma on his hands: Business at his Howard County NeoTech incubator-based a2z Inc. had grown sharply, and his international customers thought he should expand in Europe. But setting up an office in a foreign country was a formidable job for his 12-person online software company to handle.

"To some extent we are hampered in our sales ability in Europe because we don't have the local presence," Jain said. "We can't afford to open a large office and cater to the European market. We cater to the trade show industry, and North America has about 10,000 trade shows a year, but the European market is even bigger. If I had the money, I would do it today."

Jain turned to Mike Haines, vice president of small-business development at the incubator, for help, and Haines began laying the groundwork for a program that by the end of the year could help companies such as Jain's around the world find a refuge for global expansion.

The program, IncuNet, would create a network of incubators in the United States, Europe and Asia, linking them in a pledge to help one another's member companies when they chose to expand internationally.

Each of the incubators would provide a short-term haven in a foreign land and a learning environment that would give the business a place to stabilize before heading out on its own. Although the program is in early development, Haines said he is finding interest abroad.

"One of the interesting things we're finding, most of the companies we talked to overseas want to establish a presence in the U.S. marketplace," he said. "It becomes an interesting economic development process for Howard County."

According to the National Business Incubation Association, international interest in business incubation is on the rise.

The group, which has members from more than 50 countries, reported that more than half of those who attended its convention two months ago were from outside the United States. At an international summit of business incubation associations last year in San Jose, Calif., delegates adopted a resolution to incubate 1 million companies worldwide by 2005.

NeoTech is not the only incubator to take note of the international interest.

The Japan External Trade Organization has a program similar to the one Howard County is trying to develop. The group, which has a U.S. office in Chicago, provides incubation services and support to high-tech Japanese companies that relocate to the organization's sites in the United States.

The International Business Incubator in San Jose's Silicon Valley, which plays host to nearly two dozen companies from around the world, also is a frequent stop for foreign businessmen on trade missions, according to the group's Web site.

The incubator regularly receives requests for visits from consulates, trade missions, the U.S. Department of Commerce, academic leaders and other business incubators, and is visited by an average of 12 groups a month.

Linda Knopp, a spokeswoman for the national incubation group, said it's no surprise that other countries are interested in incubators.

"Research has shown that business incubators can help start-up businesses succeed, produce graduate companies that are likely to stay in their communities and create jobs," she said. "This research documents the effectiveness of business incubators, which increases the attractiveness of the programs to other countries looking to expand their own economies."