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This article reports that the "Optical Internetworking Forum," (OIF) conducted a World Interoperability Demonstration in conjunction with SUPERCOMM Inc., another telecommunication company. The demonstration was held in Chicago during June 22-24, 2004. The demonstration was executed on a global stage with seven carriers across three continents Internet through an intelligent control plane in a multivendor environment of 15 vendor participants. The success of the demonstration validated the work of the OIF in promoting carrier deployment of integrated data and optical network technologies. It demonstrated leading edge technologies in both the control and transport planes. The control plane provides an automated method of managing connections, while the data adaptations in the transport plane provide flexible and efficient transport. The OIF World Interoperability Demonstration marked a key milestone in maturing the underlying technologies, thus moving them closer to deployment. The remainder of this article describes the technical approach and execution of this demonstration. The preparations and scope of the event are described, including work within and between carrier laboratories.