"We want to change the way people find, sell or rent property in Viet Nam," said Song, whose idea was inspired by his own experience with finding a place to live when he first arrived.

Local real estate agents tend to keep information on available places to themselves and clients are lost because of their lack of information, said Song.

He was enjoying a comfortable life when his 23-year-old son, Aaron, who founded and is the CEO of www.presalepassword.com, an online ticketing information company, suggested they find new business opportunities in another country.

The two decided to go to Shanghai, China, first. But they didn’t see much opportunity in the information technology market there, said Aaron.

After his trip to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Ha Noi last November, Paul went back to China and asked his son to move to HCM City.

In 1999, Paul was appointed by President Clinton as as chairman of the APEC Technology Task Force’s Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

While still running their businesses in the US from HCM City, they built their real estate website.

It first went online in October, and now has 60,000 page views a day and 10,000 users as of last week.

Major foreign property companies in Viet Nam, including CB Richard Ellis, Savills, Bitexco, Saigon Pearl and Hung Vuong, have signed partnership agreements with Met Vuong Real Estate Company.

The company’s long-term vision is to build an extensive database over time. By utilising the strength of information technology knowledge and skills, Paul predicts he will be able to sell the most up-to-date information on market prices and trends.