Neo Imperialism

I remember a discussion I was involved in at a session in Cambridge last month. The current MNC trends in India were compared to the establishment of East India Company in India a few centuries ago. Does this suggest that the current trends might lead to imperialism or may be newer avatar of imperialism?

We live in an exponentially different world today compared to the world in the 18^th century. The information revolution removed the barriers for communication and expression. Is imperialism even possible in this information world? I think not as long as no single entity completely controls and filters the communication pipelines.