Camera megapixels

Now that the mega-pixel race seems all but over for the most part, and the sensor size wars are on the horizon, in my honest opinion the camera manufactures need to change the way that they spec and advertise their products.
At the moment a camera sensor is described as 8/10/12/14/16 megapixels e.g. the image sensor can record the appropriate millions of pixel points of light that create the final image.
Now you would think that a 5 megapixel  sensor would be inferior to one of 10 megapixels but you could be in for a few surprises. Take a current 14 megapixel compact camera and shoot identical shots with it and a Leica Digilux 2, 6 year old (+) camera with a 5 megapixel sensor using the same ISO setting, blow the images to 10x 8 and see which one you prefer from say 6ft away. My guess would be on the Leica. It produces a detailed image with rich and natural colours because of a couple of simple things.
With 5 megapixels the Leica sensor gives each pixel a lot more room to accurately record the light falling on it, so can be larger. Generally larger pixels perform better when creating the final image for print or screen. Similarly the algorithm that welds all the pixels together in the Leica is pretty damn good too, and that accounts for an additional boost in the impact  of the image on your eyes. I would bet my ass that a Leica Digilux 2 owner has a high proportion of their images printed out 10x8 than the average high megapixel count compact camera owner.
As a disclaimer here, I will say that the Leica lens is worth its weight in gold compared to most modern compacts, being supurbly sharp, but a sensor that cannot take advantage of that sharpness is all but a waste of time and here's a case in point. My Canon G10 sports a 14.7 mega pixel sensor and a pretty sharp lens. At ISO 80 it produces stunningly detailed images close to DSLR quality. But, push the ISO to 400 and large print images begin to suffer from loss of detail and noise, especially in low light. Crank the ISO to 1600 and you need to stick to 7X5 or 6X4 prints as the finer detail is blurred out from noise and general degradation. (The Leica performs similar too).
The reason that DSLRs and micro 4/3rd cameras can produce bigger, sharper print is that they have larger sensors and more modern algorithms to weld the pixels together for the final image. But I would still hang 10x8 pics from my G10, and a Leica digilux 2 pic, shot at ISO 100 with any shot with a modern micro 4/3rds or compact camera of similar cost and my guess is that the Leica would still look a more appealing print. At 5 megapixels only, thats some achievement, but as we now know..... "It's not a megapixel race" any longer, more about improving sensors and camera software.
So if you want to stay in the megapixel race make sure the pixels are on a big sensor.
To see some Leica Digilux 2 images go here