That Bloke In The Big Smoke

The terms first world, second world, and third world are used to divide the nations of Earth into three broad categories. Originally, the term "first world" referred to capitalist societies, the term "second world" to centrally planned ones, whereas "third world" stood for tribal systems. During the Cold War, the phrase "first world" referred to nations within the United States' sphere of influence, the phrase "second world" to nations within the Soviet Union's sphere of influence, and the phrase "third world" to nations within neither sphere. After the Cold War, "first world" began to refer to countries with "Western" societies and large economies and "third world" to developing countries in regions such as Africa (because originally neither Cold War superpower bothered with such countries); with the fall of Leninist Communism the term "second world" largely fell out of use. (Original Link) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_world)