As a single man in Raleigh, Greg Labows likes golf, college basketball and most things American. As a 35-year-old corporate riser at IBM, his eyes are overseas. The software-sales executive is preparing for a four-week stint in the Philippines, where IBM is working to build good will and a stronger presence.

"Ten or 15 years down the road, a lot of the opportunities will focus abroad," Labows said, "and experiences like this will open doors."

He is one of 600 IBMers worldwide chosen to serve as a diplomat and aid worker in poor countries, a sort of Peace Corps for capitalism. The aim is for IBM employees to help nonprofit groups provide loans, business training and technology to small and rural businesses. Longer term, it's a corporate bet on emerging-market growth and perhaps a foot in the door in key nations.

Multinational companies increasingly see the future in developing countries, particularly as economies in the U.S. and Europe slow and nations such as the Philippines, India, China and Brazil take off.

Networking gear maker Cisco Systems is committing hundreds of millions of dollars to high-potential startups in India and investing in education, research and Internet access in China. Software maker Red Hat and PC maker Lenovo are funding research and education in burgeoning technology markets worldwide, places where they see a chance to expand sales or get in early.

"Growth is increasingly outside of the U.S. and in emerging geographies," said Stan Litow, vice president of corporate affairs and creator of IBM's new corporate services corps.

"Ten years ago you weren't as confident about opportunities in India, China, Brazil or Russia. Ten years from now, you'll be marveling," Litow said.

Under his watch, 600 of IBM's "emerging leaders" -- including Labows and four others from the Triangle -- will be first on the scene in foreign lands, hoping to help build businesses and communities and connect with key governments, nonprofit organizations and universities.

Ready to solve

For Labows, the next two to three months will involve flu shots, online language and culture training and getting travel documents, all courtesy of Big Blue.

Then it's off to Davao City, Philippines, where he will apply skills he developed helping health-care clients computerize medical records and other data. He plans to teach small and rural businesses to do some of the same.

He said his older brother, who recently helped reconstruction efforts in Iraq, inspired him to reach abroad.

"That pushed me to jump outside my comfort zone," said Labows, who jokes that his global experience is limited to about a half-dozen words he remembers from high school German.

About 5,000 IBMers applied for one of the overseas stints. Labows aced the essay. "I view myself as a problem solver," he wrote, discussing his desire to apply technical and marketing savvy to developing-world challenges. "I have had significant, albeit limited, exposure to global business. This is certainly a key area where I am looking to develop my skills."

From the ground up

Some of the IBM recruits have sales or technical backgrounds. Others come from marketing and finance. All will work on location in teams with local aid groups to expand small-business lending, train rural entrepreneurs in technology and help women business owners network.

That might seem rather altruistic for a for-profit company that makes billions tending to first-world information needs.

"But this is not altruism," said Campbell Harvey, a professor of finance and international business at Duke University. "It would be naive to think these large corporations are going into emerging markets simply for philanthropy.

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