Shilpa Shetty will be long remembered for doing what the Commission for Racial Equality and other institutions have been struggling to do - put racism on top of Britain's public agenda.

The issue has been Q1. around for some time but not under such Q2. media torchlight that 'Celebrity Big Brother' show has come under. The last time racism hit the headlines - but not to this extent - was in 1999 when the inquiry into Afro-Caribbean teenager Stephen Lawrence's murder called the police force 'institutionally racist'.

For nearly two weeks now, old and new media - print, radio, television, chatrooms, blogs - have been Q3. with debates around Jade Goody's unseemly conduct towards Bollywood actor Shilpa touched a raw nerve in Britain's large non-white minority.

But large numbers of the white community have also voiced Q4. over Goody's 'colourful' comments. Driven by political correctness or not, almost everyone has rushed to proclaim their stand against racism, right from Prime Minister Tony Blair downwards.

As the strong reaction shows, the Asian community in Britain is remarkably networked. The many Q5. within the community are pushed into the background when faced with the curse of racism. The vast majority of Asians who have born and brought up in Britain - have at some point faced racism - Q6. or covert.

Of course, nobody believes that the Goody-Shilpa Q7. will overnight change attitudes, despite the overwhelming majority voting to evict Goody from the Big Brother house. But the show has indeed brought to the surface how much remains to be done to weed out racism from British society.

The Shilpa show also highlighted the economic strength of Britain's Asian community - not only as consumers but also as wealth creators. The strength of what is called the 'brown pound' has become more important at a time when Indian investment has been flooding into Britain and creating jobs.

Apart from the main sponsor Carphone Warehouse, companies whose food, furniture and electrical goods are used in the Big Brother house have asked for their products to be removed from the show. These include Indian origin entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria's Cobra Beer and United Biscuits.

There are already signs that the row is Q8. ongoing official measures to further strengthen Britain's multicultural mosaic. Education secretary Alan Johnson has promised to overhaul citizenship lessons in schools to dispel racist and ignorant attitudes. Johnson's plans include discussions of core national values such as fairness and mutual respect and debate about what 'Britishness' means. Children will also learn about the way immigrant groups throughout history have forged the shape of the nation.

Johnson said: 'The current debate over Big Brother has highlighted the need to make sure our schools focus on the core British values of justice and tolerance. We want the world to be talking about the respect and understanding we give all cultures, not the ignorance and Q9. shown on our TV screens.

'Britain is a nation built from and by people from other countries, from the Romans and William the Conqueror right through modern history. We owe a debt of gratitude to all the people that make up Britain today: immigrants from Pakistan, India and the West Indies have helped build our new welfare system and our public services, particularly the NHS.'

John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, said the row had exposed 'an ugly underbelly in society' and added that the Q10. had highlighted how people 'are only too ready to point the finger at the foreigner, or those who might not fit in'.