Liechtenstein is located between Austria and Switzerland. The Rhine Valley occupies one-third of the country, and the Alps cover the rest. Liechtenstein has close ties to Switzerland - it uses Swiss currency and Switzerland has administered its postal services since 1921.

Olympic Tradition: First competed in 1936. Liechtenstein is the only country that has won medals at the Olympic Winter Games but not at the Summer Games. Hanni Wenzel won the women's slalom at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. Also, it is the longest-standing member of the IOC yet to win a medal at the Games of the Olympiad (it gained membership in 1935). Boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow. Liechtenstein's Princess Nora is a member of the IOC.

Vancouver Outlook: Alpine skier Marco Buechel remains Liechtenstein's sole medal hopeful. Buechel has competed in five previous Olympics, finishing 6th and 7th in men's super-G and downhill respectively in Torino. Buechel has continued to defy age, seemingly getting better as the years pass, and could be an outsider contender in both the super-G and downhill events. In 2008, he became the oldest winner of a World Cup race.