CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA, TIMES OF INDIA - The popular American theory that money talks, or at least it makes people talk, is in dire threat of being disproved in Afghanistan. The $25 million bounty Uncle Sam has offered for information leading to the capture of Osama Bin Laden hasn't worked, because, US officials are now saying, the Afghans can't comprehend just how large the sum is. The result: Uncle Sam is now "downsizing" the reward. The US will now offer to build a road, dig a well, or give away a flock of sheep to Afghan communities that rat on Bin Laden. The change in the "booty treatment" comes after American officials in the region found that poor Afghan peasants were clueless about Big Money. A general reportedly asked an Afghan what he could do with $25 million if he helped the United States find Osama Bin Laden. The local replied that the money might be enough to feed his nine children for a year. So the Bush administration has now considered a $5 million discretionary fund to pay for basic inducements such as cash, livestock or help drilling a well. The hope is that average Afghans, many of whom are poor and illiterate, can relate to owning a flock of sheep more than becoming a millionaire.