1. A geographically distributed storage system for managing the distribution of a plurality of data elements, comprising: a plurality of geographically distributed sites, each comprising a site storage unit configured for locally storing a portion of a globally coherent distributed database comprising the plurality of data elements and a local access point configured for receiving requests relating to ones of the plurality of data elements; and a data management module configured for forwarding at least one requested data element to the local access point at a first of said plurality of geographically distributed sites from which said request is received and storing said at least one requested data element at said first site, thereby to provide local accessibility to said data element for future requests from said first site while maintaining the global coherency of said globally coherent distributed database.