The name's Bond, James Bond" — depending on your age and temperament you may hear the sentence in a velvety voice with a Scottish accent or imagine a raised eyebrow and a sardonic tone or hear it in its steelier, icy modern-day incarnation. The only certainty is that wherever you live in the world, you are likely to have heard of Bond. He is like Coca-Cola, an instantly recognizable brand name.

"The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning" - with these 16 words, hammered out on a typewriter in Jamaica, James Bond was born. It is the first sentence of "Casino Royale", the first James Bond novel. Ian Fleming wrote them in February 1952 at Goldeneye, his home in Jamaica. Could he have foreseen that one day the character he created would become a global multimillion-dollar brand? Probably yes, by all accounts Fleming did not lack ambition or arrogance.

This year celebrates the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth and the Bond brand is thriving. This weekend saw the opening of the latest Bond film: "Quantum of Solace". It has broken box-office records with receipts of £4.9 million on its opening day in the UK alone. The reviews have been so-so but this has not deterred the general public from flocking to see the film.

The books too are thriving. Ian Fleming may have died in 1964 but James Bond stories keep being published. There is a publishing house dedicated to his books: Ian Fleming Publications. They have authorized no less than 33 James Bond novels since Fleming's death. This year saw the publication of "Devil May Care" written by Sebastian Faulks "writing as Ian Fleming". That too was a record-breaker selling more than 44,000 copies in the first four days.

Like all good brands there are now James Bond products targeted at specific market segments. For teenage boys, there is young James Bond, a series of books with a school-age Bond. For the film fans, there are books on the filming of James Bond with photos and backstage gossip. For the more academically minded, there are books by university researchers tracing the sociological impact of James Bond. There is even a French cookbook called Bon Appetit Mr. Bond!

It has not always been plain sailing. A few years ago many predicted that the Bond franchise was doomed. All the Ian Fleming books had been turned into film. The films themselves had become formulaic and looked lackluster compared to other blockbusters such as the Jason Bourne films. The public began to get bored with Bond, he had become passé. So what do you do? Reinvent. The sixth incarnation of James Bond came in the form of blond and blue-eyed Daniel Craig. This Bond is grittier, rougher around the edges, more human, very physical, much less suave and sophisticated and much more angry and aggressive. "Casino Royale", Craig's first Bond film, was an altogether different kind. It was a huge box office success taking in $594 million and confirmed Craig in the role.

"Quantum of Solace" continues where "Casino Royale" left off and looks set to be an even bigger hit. It has not one but two Bond girls, one of whom is a bona-fide Ukrainian: Olga Kurylenko.

The Communist Party of St. Petersburg is not amused. It has accused Kurylenko of betraying her roots and consider her appearance in the Bond film "an act of intellectual and moral betrayal". The Russians, it seems, believe that James Bond is, if not a real secret agent, at least a tool of Western propaganda against their country. The party's leader, Sergei Malinkovich is quoted by the Daily Telegraph as saying, "Everyone knows that the CIA and MI6 finance James Bond films as a special operation of psychological warfare against us. This Ukrainian girl sleeps with Bond and that means the Ukraine is sleeping with the West." Malinkovich goes on to suggest that Kurylenko should seduce Daniel Craig and deliver him to the Russian security services because he believes that Craig works for American intelligence.

That's the thing with James Bond. He is the most improbable and unrealistic secret agent. He wears tuxedos, spends his time in casinos or seducing women, drives fast cars and wears expensive watches. Moreover, everyone knows who he is and he is anything but a secret agent. And yet he has come to embody something real. He is a seductive fantasy and one that makes Britain and to some extent the US look good. It may be only entertainment but it is entertainment with a not-so-subtle subtext.

Still I am much amused by the idea that Daniel Craig as a CIA agent. It makes up for the lack of humor in the new James Bond films. Gone are the one-liners and the classic James Bond catch phrases. The name's Bond, James Bond. Just don't expect to hear Daniel Craig say it.