The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the specialized international agency for standardization, which at present comprises the national standards bodies of 90 countries (see Appendix C). The objective of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the sphere of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. The scope of ISO covers standardization in all fields except electrical and electronic engineering standards, which are the responsibility of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).