I've always used the term "second-world" to reference countries that are trying to dig their way out of a potentially third-world crisis situation by employing the methods of capitalism to limited success. I characterize a lot of the travelling I've done as second-world (esp. Korea and Ecuador). There's abundant poverty, plenty of environmental pollution and political corruption (not unlike the first-world, if you ask "Don't-Blame-Me-I-Voted-for-Nader" me)... to me, second-world is only a matter of who employed the methodology first.