Added to the terror concerns is an upsurge in kidnap activity in Iraq over the past twelve months.

At the same time, India is facing a variety of terrorist threats from separatists, leftist groups, and Sikh, Hindu and Islamic extremist organizations, according to the Aon analysis.

"Given that a number of Western companies that will be outsourcing operations to India, the need for proper threat assessment and terrorism risk management on the part of these companies has never been greater," Justin Priestley, director at the division, said in a statement.

"Around the world, we have observed an increase in both the severity of terrorist attacks and their capacity to affect business confidence," commented Paul Bassett, executive director of the division. "Incidents such as the bombing of a British bank in Istanbul, or the bombing of trains in Madrid, have both an immediate, tragic and human impact and a longer-term effect on business confidence."

"Companies urgently need to review the threat to their staff and investments all over the world," he added. "In the current situation, location is less relevant than what a company represents as a target to terrorists: The more well-known the brand and the bigger the presence, the greater the threat faced by staff and property all around the world."

The change in the risk evaluation is reflected in Aon's 2004 Global Terrorism Risk map. Additional information on the map is available at www.terrorism.co.uk.