Men will be men again in 2005, and China will be on a roll, says trendspotter Marian Salzman

Writing here last year I predicted that 2004 would be the year for singletons and sizzling Madonna-style 40-somethings. I warned of deeper divisions along racial, geographical and gender lines, and foresaw the triumph of low-carb diets. Less predictable was the impact of the weather: flash floods in Boscastle in August and the horror of the tsunami disaster have shaken our realities. So what can we expect in 2005?

Sadly the "us and them" mentality I noticed burgeoning last year—a reaction to terrorism and insecurity—will continue in 2005. European politics, for example, is set to be dominated by the immigration question. How much immigration is too much? Are there "good" immigrants and "bad" immigrants? Internationally, the increasing anti-Americanism we saw last year will spread and rise: there will be a backlash against any government perceived to be onside with American leaders.

In a similar vein, gender lines will be redrawn as men—who last year could be seen bonding with the kids, doing the vacuuming and spending a fortune on moisturisers and hair products—will start to reclaim their masculinity. Watch out for predatory, liberated he-men à la Brad Pitt in Troy, and a new battle of the sexes as the males among us decide they don't want to be soft metrosexuals any more.

More seriously, watch Asia because we will see a Chinese power surge. Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's personal computer business is the beginning of a new tomorrow where the Chinese will make their weight, and their brains, felt worldwide.

While the 2008 Olympics in Beijing are garnering attention, sports are setting a backdrop for a new fashionable consumer class to strut their stuff. The China Open tennis tournament and the Formula One grand prix in Shanghai will put the newly glam Chinese on the box. And more Chinese athletes are rising on the global stage: Olympic champion Liu Xiang is expected to break the men's 110-metre hurdles world record and Luo Xuejuan continues swimming with her eye on Beijing gold.

On the other side of the world the current deep concern for Africa will increase as the world's leading powers confront the cost—emotional and financial—of the ravages of HIV on that continent.

On a lighter note, sleep is the new sex. There are so many clues that a good night's sleep has come to beat a great orgasm. As 40- and even 50-somethings such as Helen Hunt, 41, have their first baby, or multiples thereof, an uninterrupted snooze is the most coveted luxury of all.

What is more, researchers at Bristol University have released findings that indicate a strong relationship between lack of sleep and obesity—the less you sleep, the more you eat, the more you gain weight. As we become progressively more exhausted and sleep-obsessed look out for more adverts for sleeping aids, from the organic to the pharmacological to the wacky.

The airlines will cash in on the game—virtually all of the carriers with overseas routes into and out of London are pushing beds as a perk for the business class traveler who needs to get a good flight's sleep while jetting to faraway destinations.

What a relief for all the sleepyheads that 2005 looks set to be more relaxed. We can look forward to the increasing "yoga-ization" of the workplace as the clamor for better work-life balance forces bosses into submission and a more consensual style of management is born.

Finally, blogging—posting online journals or "weblogs"—another trend I predicted would sweep the globe last year, is rapidly going mainstream in America and Britain and blog mania is reaching into China and India too. Blog is the most looked-up word on Merriam-Webster's online dictionary site, according to Reuters.

Noisy blogspheres are now driving news onto the pages of major newspapers last week several national papers published tsunami survivors' tales from the blogs. Matt Drudge started this phenomenon years ago when he used his Drudge Report to open up a dialogue about President Bill Clinton, intern Monica Lewinsky and sundry sex acts, including an infamous cigar. But in 2005, blogger beware: If you write it and post it, don't expect to keep your anonymity. You are likely to find yourself a media star.