G-20 leaders descend on Washington Friday to talk about what's needed to get the global economy back on track.

Leaders from the so-called Group of 20, which includes the United States, members of the European Union, China, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, agreed to the summit late last month at the height of the global financial crisis.

The summit represents the latest effort by countries around the globe to address what continues to be a painful and unrelenting economic crisis.

What began as a problem in the U.S. housing market more than a year ago has spread far and wide, infecting all corners of the global financial system.

Hoping to stem the crisis, countries around the globe have acted both in concert and individually in recent weeks.

Beyond the actual crisis, the leaders are expected to continue dealing with infighting, which has stalled other efforts to curb the crisis. They appear to be taking some credit before it was earned by dubbing the meeting Bretton Woods 2. By the end of the weekend, the world should know what kind of progress was made, but it will take much longer to know whether the leaders' work results in a fix for the financial system.

Group of 20 countries
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Britain
Canada
China
European Union
France
Germany
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Spain
South Africa
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Turkey
United States