  Strong correlation effects, such as a dramatic increase in the effective mass
of the carriers of electricity, recently observed in the low density electron
gas have provided spectacular support for the existence of a sharp
metal-insulator transitions in dilute two dimensional electron gases. Here we
show that strong correlations, normally expected only for narrow integer filled
bands, can be effectively enhanced even far away from integer filling, due to
incipient charge ordering driven by non-local Coulomb interactions. This
general mechanism is illustrated by solving an extended Hubbard model using
dynamical mean-field theory. Our findings account for the key aspects of the
experimental phase diagram, and reconcile the early view points of Wigner and
Mott. The interplay of short range charge order and local correlations should
result in a three peak structure in the spectral function of the electrons
which should be observable in tunneling and optical spectroscopy.
