If you make up the rules, you've got an excellent chance of winning the game.

That seems to be the logic behind a recent government initiative to study international standards on what is still unfamiliar territory for many businesses here -- corporate social responsibility.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will set up a working group May 27 to study CSR standards, as the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization steps up efforts to create a new standard for gauging corporate social responsibility by around 2005.