It exists to promote Swedish interests, and to organise exchanges with other countries in different areas of public life, in particular in the spheres of culture, education, and research.

[1] The main office of the Swedish Institute is located in Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm.

In early 2007 the Swedish Institute stated it was planning to set up an "embassy", the "House of Sweden", in Second Life, an Internet-based virtual world.

This virtual office is not intended to provide passports or visas, but serve as a point of information about Sweden.

[4] When media, with support from the constitutional Principle of Public Access, asked to review the list of blocked accounts the government agency deleted it.