  In this paper we generalize some of these results for loop algebras and
groups as well as for the Virasoro algebra to the two-dimensional case. We
define and study a class of infinite dimensional complex Lie groups which are
central extensions of the group of smooth maps from a two dimensional
orientable surface without boundary to a simple complex Lie group G. These
extensions naturally correspond to complex curves. The kernel of such an
extension is the Jacobian of the curve. The study of the coadjoint action shows
that its orbits are labelled by moduli of holomorphic principal G-bundles over
the curve and can be described in the language of partial differential
equations. In genus one it is also possible to describe the orbits as conjugacy
classes of the twisted loop group, which leads to consideration of difference
equations for holomorphic functions. This gives rise to a hope that the
described groups should possess a counterpart of the rich representation theory
that has been developed for loop groups. We also define a two-dimensional
analogue of the Virasoro algebra associated with a complex curve. In genus one,
a study of a complex analogue of Hill's operator yields a description of
invariants of the coadjoint action of this Lie algebra. The answer turns out to
be the same as in dimension one: the invariants coincide with those for the
extended algebra of currents in sl(2).
