The race to build the ultimate record-busting, flat-out tallest skyscraper on the planet is fast and furious, according to Business Week.

Moreover, the obsession to build mega-structures in nosebleed territory is particularly acute in both economically dynamic Asia and the Middle East.

The frenzy of high-powered steel building projects promises to transform 21st century skyscraper architecture in a big way. Currently, eight of the world's tallest 10 skyscrapers are in the region.

The present reigning champ among skyscrapers globally is Taiwan's Taipei 101, a structure that ascends 509 meters, or 1,671 feet.

Of course, a super-sized building boom is now raging in parts of the Middle East such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. In fact, Samsung snagged the construction work for the monstrously high Burj Dubai, a tower complex slated to reach 800 meters (2,624 feet) — which will easily blow by Taipei 101 when completed in late 2008.

Even lesser-known cities with a burning ambition to make their mark, view big, gutsy, and distinctively designed metal buildings as potential catalysts for change — and are willing to offer serious incentives to get them.

That's pretty much what city leaders in the South Korean port city of Busan (formerly Pusan) hope to accomplish with the planned 560-meter (1,837-foot) Millennium Tower World Business Center, a steel building scheduled to be completed by 2010-2011.

It will be no bland monolith, featuring three tapered towers emerging from a powerful base foundation of floors, and offering absolutely stunning ocean and mountain views.

These structures are about more than just civic pride. Skyscrapers, if done right, can be a real economic-development driver. Consider the 452-meter (1,483-foot) Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, built in 1998, the world's tallest until it was eclipsed by Taipei 101 six years later.

The Petronas Towers may no longer be the tallest building in the world, but it changed Malaysia and the perception of Kuala Lumpur worldwide, says Goh Tuan Sui, CEO of property consultancy WTW Malaysia.

"A world-class building can also raise the bar for other buildings in the city, be it malls, office blocks, or hotels," he adds.

Whether the Millennium Tower in Busan (a city also hoping to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games) results in a huge economic lift is uncertain, but plenty of cities in Asia are willing to roll the dice.

That is, of course, some great news for both architectural and general steel building firms.