Nguyen Thi Thanh Loan grew up on a small plot of land in rural Vietnam, with just enough food to eat, few new clothes and no disposable income.

Today she works in a Ford factory assembling cars from Chinese, Thai, American and European parts, her children drink imported milk and Coca-Cola and she holidays with her family - winners of the globalization lottery.

"Before, children didn't have a lot of clothes or food, but life improved after their parents got factory jobs," Loan, 36, said at the Ford plant near Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital.