This is a recent expansion of the work started in 2007 to build the most detailed map of human genetic variation available.

FORBES: Bringing the Human Genome Into the Doctor's Office

It is also involved in the International HapMap Project, a five-country initiative launched in October, to follow up the Human Genome Project with a large-scale study of human genetic variation and its relation to disease.

ECONOMIST: Chinese biotechnology

These studies have been made possible by the growth in catalogues and maps of genetic variation among human populations, as well as differences with our closest relatives, such as Neanderthal and chimpanzee.

FORBES: The Human Genome at Ten

Surprisingly, only 5-10% of the genetic variation present in the human species (that is, 5-10% of the 0.1% of the genome which does vary from person to person) distinguishes one "racial" group from another.

BBC: What is anthropological genetics?