Facing Finland, Estonia is a Northern European country that contacts the Baltic Sea. Linguistically and culturally, Estonia has many similarities with Finland. Same as the Finnish language, the Estonian language is included among the Finno-Ugric languages. Moreover, Estonians enjoy taking a sauna, just as Finnish do. People lived in the country’s Capital Tallinn since the 9th century. During this period, even a wooden fortress was constructed for the first time. Today, the National Assembly of Estonia is on the Toompea hill where this wooden fortress used to stand. Estonia well preserves the image of the medieval ages, such as the Dominican Monastery constructed in 1246 and the Tallinn Town Hall which is the only Gothic building remaining in Northern Europe. In 2006, the real growth rate of the country’s GDP reached 9.8%, ranking 16th in the world. Such fruitful growth was made possible by the development of the country’s Information Technology (IT). Wireless internet service is provided in schools and downtowns of the major cities. Among the country’s population of 1.3 million (as of 2007), about two thirds enjoy internet banking service. Moreover in February 2007, Estonia executed its general election through internet for the first time in the world. The unique internet phone service, Skype, was also developed in Estonia.