You are told the size of the world and how many nations are in it. It also gives a detail of each nation that lists the nation id, nation name, nation mark, leader name, and race.
Within this report is also the spy option, [s]. You will then be prompted for a nation id, and then you will be presented with a screen that allows you to bribe officials in that nation for information. Here is how it works:
You pay a certain amount of jewels in bribes to another nation. You can get information about their [p]opulation, [e]conomy, [m]ilitary, ma[g]ic, [t]echnology and [C]apital location. You can also steal [T]echnology (not yet implemented).
The success of your spying will depend on your spy level, your opponent's secrecy, your and your opponent's stealth, and the amount of jewels you spend in bribes. You will receive an answer which is not exactly accurate, but gets better if you spend more, or have a better spy value, and so on.