Best way to gain Espionage experience?

[rivalbo]

I was wondering a few things about the spy game in Civ3: PTW...

First off, what's the easiest way to gain spy experience? Right now, I've got the English and Chinese who, no matter when I try, always catch me attempting to place a spy in their midst. He's not even trying to do anything.. just set up shop! So when's the best time to spy (pre-modern age I'm assuming) and how to gain it (the xp) quickly?

Also, does espionage experience actually mean anything? Are missions both cheaper and less prone to failure if you're say a veteran in the spy game? Better chance of catching enemy spies when they're being planted? And how many ranks are there for the experience? (Veteran, Elite, Spymaster?)

And lastly, is espionage even worth it, from a tech-stealing viewpoint anyways? 'Cuz I have traded for tech for less than (About 1/3 the price usually) the listed safe "Steal Tech" command.

[Ijuin]

IIRC, spy experience is a preset value, not subject to being changed via conducting more espionage--that is, performing successful espionage missions does NOT raise your spy experience.

What DOES happen instead is that spy experience is set by your government type--in the default settings, all governments have Regular spies except for Communism, which gets Veteran spies. Diplomatic experience is set the same way, with the default setting being that all governments get Regular diplomats while Democracy gets Veteran diplomats.

I believe that you are correct in assuming that more experienced Spies have a higher success ratio. Likewise, Veteran diplomats are more likely to get an AI Civ to agree to a deal when your advisor says "We're getting close to a deal".