Burma looks forward to reform - in pictures

Women chat at a market in Naypyidaw, the administrative capital of Burma. Hopes of concrete economic reforms are running high among foreign business people now pouring into Burma ahead of pledged democratic reforms Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

A fruit vendor waits for customers at the market in Naypyidaw Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

People pass time at their home on the outskirts of Naypyidaw. The mood in the country is optimistic, fanned by a pledge for democratic reform, freeing political prisoners and setting the stage for an April election Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Women wash clothes at a river on the outskirts of Naypyidaw. As tourists and investors knock on Burma;s door, however, Burmese are still leaving the country in droves Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

The appetite to leave Burma suggests ordinary people don't expect the end of half a century of isolation to improve the economy any time soon Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

People play chess under pictures of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her father, Burma's independence hero, General Aung San Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Workers take a break for lunch at a construction site in Naypyidaw. It is now one of the fastest-growing cities in the world Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Workers play a game during their break at a construction site in Naypyidaw Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Workers are trucked home in Naypyidaw after finishing work Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters