electronics firms eye plasma deal consumer electronics giants hitachi and matshushita electric are joining forces to share and develop technology for flat screen televisions.  the tie-up comes as the world s top producers are having to contend with falling prices and intense competition. the two japanese companies will collaborate in research & development  production  marketing and licensing. they said the agreement would enable the two companies to expand the plasma display tv market globally.  plasma display panels are used for large  thin tvs which are replacing old-style televisions. the display market for high-definition televisions is split between models using plasma display panels and others - manufactured by the likes of sony and samsung - using liquid-crystal displays (lcds). the deal will enable hitachi and matsushita  which makes panasonic brand products  to develop new technology and improve their competitiveness. hitachi recently announced a deal to buy plasma display technology from rival fujitsu in an effort to strengthen its presence in the market.  separately  fujitsu announced on monday that it is quitting the lcd panel market by transferring its operations in the area to japanese manufacturer sharp. sharp will inherit staff  manufacturing facilities and intellectual property from fujitsu. the plasma panel market has seen rapid consolidation in recent months as the price of consumer electronic goods and components has fallen. samsung electronics and sony are among other companies working together to reduce costs and speed up new product development.


wenger steps up row arsene wenger has stepped up his feud with sir alex ferguson by claiming the manchester united manager is guilty of bringing football into disrepute.  the pair s long-running row was put back in the headlines on saturday when ferguson said his arsenal counterpart was  a disgrace . wenger initially refused to bite back  saying only:  i will never answer any questions any more about this man.  but now he claims ferguson should be punished by the football association. the latest twist in the ferguson-wenger saga came on saturday when the united boss  in an interview with the independent newspaper  discussed the events after the game between the two sides in october. united won 2-0 that day  at old trafford  but the game was followed by a now notorious food fight which saw ferguson s clothes covered in soup and pizza. the sides meet again at highbury on 1 february.  in the tunnel wenger was criticising my players  calling them cheats  so i told him to leave them alone and behave himself   ferguson said on saturday.  he ran at me with hands raised saying  what do you want to do about it    to not apologise for the behaviour of the players to another manager is unthinkable. it s a disgrace  but i don t expect wenger to ever apologise  he s that type of person.   those allegations were put to wenger after saturday s game at bolton  which arsenal lost to slip 10 points behind chelsea in the title race. at first he said only:  i ve always been consistent with that story and told you nothing happened.  if he has to talk  he talks. if he wants to make a newspaper article  he makes a newspaper article.  he doesn t interest me and doesn t matter to me at all. i will never answer to any provocation from him any more.  he does what he likes in england anyway. he can go abroad one day and see how it is.  but later on saturday  according to the independent  wenger spoke to a smaller group of reporters and expanded on his reaction.  i have no diplomatic relations with him   the arsenal boss is quoted as saying.  what i don t understand is that he does what he wants and you (the press) are all at his feet.   the situation (concerning the food fight) has been judged and there is a game going on in a month.  the managers have a responsibility to protect the game before the game. but in england you are only punished for what you say after the game.  now the whole story starts again. i don t go into that game. we play football. i am a football manager and i love football above all ... no matter what people say.  reminded that ferguson called him  a disgrace   wenger added:  i don t respond to anything. in england you have a good phrase. it is  bringing the game into disrepute .  but that is not only after a game  it is as well before a game.   ferguson had also claimed that united chief executive david gill and arsenal vice-chairman david dein had agreed at boardroom level not to discuss the incident in public. but ferguson added:  in the ensuing weeks all you got was a diatribe from arsenal about being kicked off the pitch and all that nonsense. gill phoned dein three times to complain but nothing was done.  the return is on 1 february and they will come out with another diatribe.  david gill and i feel we should set the record straight because arsenal have not written to us to apologise and we would not let that happen here.  meanwhile  the league managers association have offered to act as peacemakers in the hope of resolving the on-going row. during that stormy game in october  united striker ruud van nistelrooy caught arsenal s ashley cole with one particularly strong tackle. wenger later accused van nistelrooy of  cheating  and was fined £15 000 and  severely reprimanded  by the football association. ferguson admitted on saturday that van nistelrooy s tackle  which earned the dutchman a ban   could have given (cole) a serious injury   but he believes arsenal were the main aggressors.   wenger is always complaining the match was not played in the right spirit   he added.  they are the worst losers of all time  they don t know how to lose. maybe it is just manchester united  they don t lose many games to other teams.  we tend to forget the worst disciplinary record of all time was arsenal s up until last season. in fairness it has improved and now they are seen as paragons of virtue.  but to wenger it never happens  it is all some dream or nightmare.


japan economy slides to recession the japanese economy has officially gone back into recession for the fourth time in a decade.  gross domestic product fell by 0.1% in the last three months of 2004. the fall reflects weak exports and a slowdown in consumer spending  and follows similar falls in gdp in the two previous quarters. the tokyo stock market fell after the figures were announced  but rose again on a widespread perception that the economy will recover later this year. on wednesday  the government revised growth figures from earlier in 2004 which  when taking into account performance in the most recent period  effectively tips japan into recession.  a previous estimate of 0.1% growth between july and september was downgraded to a 0.3% decline. a recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth  although the japanese government takes other factors into account when judging the status of its economy.  figures released by the government s cabinet office showed that gdp  on an annualised basis  fell 0.5% in the last three months of 2004. however  politicians remain upbeat about prospects for an economic boost later in the year.  the economy has some soft patches but if you look at the bigger picture  it is in a recovery stage   said economic and fiscal policy minister heizo takenaka. gross domestic product measures the overall value of goods and services produced in a country.  the economy must be assessed comprehensively and we cannot look at gdp alone   mr takenaka stressed.  ministers pointed to the fact that consumer spending had been depressed by one-off factors such as the unseasonably mild winter. analysts said the figures were disappointing but argued that japan s largest companies had been recording healthy profits and capital spending was on the rise. japan s economy grew 2.6% overall last year - fuelled by a strong performance in the first few months - and is forecast to see growth of 2.1% in 2005. however  the economy s fragile recovery remains dependent on an upturn in consumer spending  a fall in the value of the yen and an improvement in global economies.  the results came in at the lower end of expectations but we shouldn t be too pessimistic about the current state and the outlook for the economy   said naoki iizuka  senior economist at the dai-ichi life research institute. japan s economy has seen stretches of moderate growth over the past decade but has periodically slipped back into recession.


disney settles disclosure charges walt disney has settled charges from us federal regulators that it failed to disclose how family members of directors were employed by the company.  the media giant was not fined by the securities and exchange commission  but has agreed to refrain from any future violations of securities law. disney failed to tell investors that between 1999 and 2001 it employed three adult children of three then directors. the firm has neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in the settlement.  the three disney directors in question in the central matter of the sec s investigation - reveta bowers  stanley gold and raymond watson - have all since left the company  with ms bowers and mr watson both retiring  and mr gold quitting in 2003. their children were paid between $60 000 (£30 800) and $150 000 a year  with shareholders not being informed. the sec also found that disney did not disclose that a 50% disney-owned subsidiary company - lifetime - employed the wife of current disney director john bryson  and that she earned more than $1m a year. louise bryson remains with lifetime.  disney also failed to disclose payments to air shamrock  an airline owned by mr gold and fellow former disney directors roy disney. finally  disney also did not reveal that it provided more than $200 000 annually for office space  secretarial services  and a leased car and driver to former director thomas murphy.  shareholders have a significant interest in information regarding relationships between the company and its directors   said sec deputy enforcement director linda thomsen.  failure to comply with the sec s disclosure rules in this area impedes shareholders  ability to evaluate the objectivity and independence of directors.


us industrial output growth eases us industrial production continued to rise in november  albeit at a slower pace than the previous month.  the us federal reserve said output from factories  mines and utilities rose 0.3% - in line with forecasts - from a revised 0.6% increase in october. analysts added that if the carmaking sector - which saw production fall 0.5% - had been excluded the data would have been more impressive. the latest increase means industrial output has grown 4.2% in the past year. many analysts were upbeat about the prospects for the us economy  with the increase in production coming on the heels of news of a recovery in retail sales.  this is very consistent with an economy growing at 3.5 to 4.0%. it is congruent with job growth and consumer optimism   comerica chief economist david littman said of the figures.  the us economy grew at a respectable annual rate of 3.7% in the three months between july and september  while jobs growth averaged 178 000 during the same period. while the employment figures are not spectacular  experts believe they are enough to whittle away at america s 5.4% jobless rate. a breakdown of the latest production figures shows mining output drove the increase  surging 2.1%  while factory output rose 0.3%. but utility output dropped 1.4%. meanwhile  the amount of factory capacity in use during the month rose to 77.6% - its highest level since may 2001.  many investors think that product market inflation won t be a problem until the utilisation rates are at 80% or higher   cary leahy  senior us economist at deutsche bank securities  said.  so there is still a lot of inflation-fighting slack in the manufacturing sector    overall i d say manufacturing at least away from autos continues to improve and i would bet that it improves at a faster rate in coming months given how lean inventories are   citigroup senior economist steven wieting added.


sony wares win innovation award sony has taken the prize for top innovator at the annual awards of pc pro magazine.  it won the award for taking risks with products and for its  brave  commitment to good design. conferring the award  pc pro s staff picked out sony s pcg-x505/p vaio laptop as a  stunning piece of engineering . the electronics giant beat off strong competition from toshiba and chip makers amd and intel to take the gong.  paul trotter  news and features editor of pc pro  said several sony products helped it to take the innovation award.  he said sony s clie peg ux50 media player with its swivel screen and qwerty keyboard  broke the design rules yet again . other sony products that helped included the vaio w1 desktop computer and the ra-104 media server. mr trotter said sony s combining of computer  screen and keyboard in the w1 was likely to be widely copied in future home pcs. the company has also become one of the first to use organic leds in its products.  while not always inventing new technology itself  sony was never afraid to innovate around various formats   said mr trotter.  other awards decided by pc pro s staff and contributors included one for canon s eos 300d digital camera in the most wanted hardware category.  microsoft s media player 10 took the award for most wanted software. this year was the 10th anniversary of the pc pro awards  which splits its prizes into two sections. the first are chosen by the magazine s writers and consultants  the second are voted for by readers. mr trotter said more than 13 000 people voted for the reliability and service awards  twice as many as in 2003. net-based memory and video card shop crucial shared the award for online vendor of the year with novatech.


campbell rescues arsenal sol campbell proved to be an unlikely match-winner to earn arsenal a hard-fought win at portsmouth.  the england defender lashed home a 25-yard shot for his first goal in 16 months to take arsenal back into second spot  five points behind chelsea. but before campbell scored the best two chances of the game fell to pompey striker ricardo fuller. in the first half he blasted wide when clear  and his control let him down in the second half when well placed. portsmouth got plenty of bodies behind the ball to deny arsenal space in the early stages. but their marking was slack at a corner and patrick vieira should have done better when the ball fell to him 16 yards out. a mistake by arjan de zeeuw let thierry henry in behind the pompey defence on 17 minutes but as he bore down on goal linvoy primus got in a saving tackle. with just fuller as an out-and-out striker  portsmouth s shape made life difficult for arsenal. but a delightful touch by robin van persie gave henry a sight of goal  although the angle was too tight for his shot to trouble jamie ashdown.  ashdown caused hearts to flutter on 28 minutes when he missed his punch at a corner and kolo toure headed just wide and  as arsenal began to press  van persie blasted over a good opportunity after henry had set him up. henry took a quick return pass from vieira but ashdown was out quickly to block  and there were some anxious seconds for pompey as the ball ran loose before matthew taylor cleared. after playing second fiddle  portsmouth should have taken the lead on 34 minutes. referee howard webb played a good advantage to allow steve stone to send gary o neil away but  having shrugged off toure  the pompey midfielder planted his shot wide from 10 yards. as half-time approached  henry teased a shot through a ruck of players and inches wide. at the other end  fuller broke clear but failed to hit the target as toure closed him down.  fuller was given the best chance of the match so far on 48 minutes when patrik berger s break and slipped pass played him clear. but a poor first touch lost him the opportunity and even when he checked back and went down under vieira s challenge  referee webb was not interested. fuller paid the price when he gave way on 55 minutes to aiyegbeni yakubu  who returned after six weeks out with a knee injury. but it needed alert reflexes and safe handling from ashdown to cling on to van persie s shot as henry sniffed for scraps.  portsmouth were growing in confidence and keeper manuel almunia had to stand his ground to beat away a powerful shot from berger. arsenal were struggling to find their rhythm but took the lead through the unlikely source of campbell. the england defender needed little invitation as pompey backed off to stride forward and lash a ferocious shot past ashdown. arsenal might have stretched their lead two minutes later when mathieu flamini escaped his marker to flash a header wide from henry s free-kick. almunia went full length to grab berger s long-range shot  while ashdown palmed away substitute dennis bergkamp s shot.  ashdown  griffin  de zeeuw  primus  taylor  stone  o neil  faye (berkovic 83)  berger  lualua  fuller (yakubu 55).  subs not used: hislop  quashie  cisse.  almunia  lauren  toure  campbell  cole  pires  flamini  vieira  clichy  van persie (bergkamp 68)  henry.  subs not used: lehmann  fabregas  senderos  hoyte.  cole.  campbell 75.  20 170.  h webb (s yorkshire).


bryan twins keep us hopes alive the united states kept the davis cup final alive with victory in saturday s doubles rubber  leaving spain 2-1 ahead going into the final day.  masters cup champions mike and bob bryan thrashed juan carlos ferrero and tommy robredo 6-0 6-3 6-2 in front of a partisan crowd in seville. victory would have given spain the title but they were outclassed. in sunday s reverse singles  carlos moya takes on andy roddick before rafael nadal faces mardy fish.  it feels good  but it s not going to be as good if we don t win two tomorrow   said mike bryan.  it feels good to give those guys another shot  and spain has to go to sleep on that.  bob bryan added:  i m really confident in andy winning that first match  and then anything can happen.  spain coach jordi arrese chose to rest 18-year-old nadal in the doubles after his epic singles win over roddick on friday. he was replaced by former world number one ferrero  but the spanish pair were out of their depth against one of the world s best doubles teams.  the 26-year-old bryan twins have won all four of their davis cup matches this year. and they quickly silenced the huge crowd at the olympic stadium  racing through the opening set to love. the spaniards then twice surrendered breaks of serve at the start of the second before the bryans broke to go 5-3 ahead and served out. when robredo dropped serve in the opening game of the third set the match was all but over  and the unflappable bryan brothers powered on to an impressive win. ferrero  who was upset to be dropped for friday s singles  hinted at further dissatisfaction after the defeat.  it was a difficult game against the best doubles players   he said.  they have everything calculated and we had very little to do.  i was a bit surprised that i was named to play the doubles match because i hardly play doubles.  arrese said:  juan carlos hasn t played at all badly. he played the right way but the bryans are great doubles players.


bell set for england debut bath prop duncan bell has been added to england s 30-man squad to face ireland in the rbs six nations.  and with phil vickery sidelined for at least six weeks with a broken arm and julian white out with a neck injury  bell could make his england debut. bell  30  had set his sights on an international career with wales. but last december  the international rugby board confirmed that he could only be eligible for england as he had travelled on tour with them in 1998. england coach andy robinson could take a gamble and call inexperienced sale sharks prop andrew sheridan into his front row. but sheridan favours the loosehead side of the scrum and a more likely scenario is for uncapped bell - who was among the tryscorers when england a beat france a 30-20 nine days ago - to be drafted in. robinson also has an injury worry over centre olly barkley  who withdrew from bath s starting line-up to face gloucester last weekend.  he was due to have a hospital scan on monday  while gloucester centre henry paul  who started at fly-half against bath  limped out at kingsholm because of an ankle problem. despite barkley s three missed penalties in the 18-17 defeat against france  he is expected to retain his place at inside centre  although leicester s in-form prospect ollie smith would be an obvious replacement. bath coach john connolly rates barkley as no better than a 50/50 chance to make the dublin trip. uncapped fly-half andy goode has been named in a 30-man training squad for the ireland game  and he strengthened his selection claims by kicking 28 points during leicester s record 83-10 win against newcastle on sunday. england s players are due to meet at their surrey training base on monday.


evil twin  fear for wireless net people using wireless high-speed net (wi-fi) are being warned about fake hotspots  or access points.  the latest threat  nicknamed evil twins  pose as real hotspots but are actually unauthorised base stations  say cranfield university experts. once logged onto an evil twin  sensitive data can be intercepted. wi-fi is becoming popular as more devices come with wireless capability. london leads the global wi-fi hotspots league  with more than 1 000. the number of hotspots is expected to reach 200 000 by 2008  according to analysts.  users need to be wary of using their wi-fi enabled laptops or other portable devices in order to conduct financial transactions or anything that is of a sensitive or personal nature   said professor brian collins  head of information systems at cranfield university.   users can also protect themselves by ensuring that their wi-fi device has its security measures activated   he added. bt openzone  which operates a vast proportion of public hotspots in the uk  told the bbc news website that it made every effort to make its wi-fi secure.  naturally  people may have security concerns   said chris clark  chief executive for bt s wireless broadband.   but wi-fi networks are no more or less vulnerable than any other means of accessing the internet  like broadband or dial-up.  he said bt openzone  as well as others  have sophisticated encryption from the start of the login process to the service at a hotspot.  this means that users  personal information and data  logon usernames and passwords are protected and secure   said mr clark.  in the vast majority of cases  base stations straight out of the box from the manufacturers are automatically set up with the least secure mode possible  said dr nobles. cybercriminals who try to glean personal information using the scam  jam connections to a legitimate base station by sending a stronger signal near to the wireless client. anyone with the right gear can find a real hotspot and substitute it with an evil twin.  cybercriminals don t have to be that clever to carry out such an attack   said dr phil nobles  a wireless net and cybercrime expert at cranfield.  because wireless networks are based on radio signals they can be easily detected by unauthorised users tuning into the same frequency.   although wi-fi is increasing in popularity as more people want to use high-speed net on the move  there have been fears over how secure it is. some companies have been reluctant to use them in large numbers because of fears about security. a wireless network that is not protected can provide a backdoor into a company s computer system. public wi-fi hotspots offered by companies like bt openzone and the cloud  are accessible after users sign up and pay for use. but many home and company wi-fi networks are left unprotected and can be  sniffed out  and hi-jacked by anyone with the correct equipment.  bt advises that customers should change all default settings  make sure that their security settings on all equipment are configured correctly   said mr clark.  we also advocate the use of personal firewalls to ensure that only authorised users can have access and that data cannot be intercepted.  dr nobles is due to speak about wireless cybercrime at the science museum s dana centre in london on thursday.


man utd through after exeter test manchester united avoided an fa cup upset by edging past exeter city in their third round replay.  cristiano ronaldo scored the opener  slipping the ball between paul jones  legs after just nine minutes. united wasted a host of chances to make it safe as jones made some great saves  but wayne rooney put the tie beyond doubt late on with a cool finish. exeter had chances of their own  sean devine twice volleying wide and andrew taylor forcing tim howard to save. united boss sir alex ferguson was taking few chances after their 0-0 draw in the first game and he handed starts to paul scholes and ryan as well as ronaldo and rooney. exeter began brightly with devine and steve flack seeing plenty of the ball  but it did not take united long to assert their authority and the hosts soon found themselves a goal down. scholes played a lovely pass in to ronaldo on the left-hand side of the six-yard box and the portuguese winger slid the ball between the legs of jones to open the scoring.  united sensed a chance to finish the tie as a contest early on and ronaldo blazed over before jones saved well from scholes and then rooney. the visitors  pressure by now was incessant and rooney had another shot blocked while ronaldo slammed well over the bar again from a good position. just before the break giggs had a golden chance to double the advantage  but the welshman dragged a left-foot effort badly wide from 10 yards. in stoppage time exeter created their best chance as alex jeannin swung in a cross from the left that devine managed to flick goalwards  but the ball flew wide of howard s goal. the grecians came out after the break in determined fashion and howard had to show safe hands to collect two searching crosses into the united box. rooney looked like he might have sealed the result with a turn and shot but the ball stuck in the st james park mud and jones raced back to gather on the goalline. moments later devine had the chance to make himself a hero  but he could only volley jeannin s brilliant cross wide of howard s goal after being left unmarked six yards out. after rooney had completely messed up a free-kick 20 yards out taylor showed him how it should be done  his stunning drive from distance forcing a flying stop from howard. the home crowd were baying for a goal and they did get the ball into the net only for devine s low effort to be ruled out for an obvious offside. the persistent rooney eventually rounded jones with three minutes to go and slotted into an empty net to book a home tie with middlesbrough in the fourth round.  jones  hiley  sawyer  gaia  jeannin  moxey  taylor (martin 89)  ampadu (afful 69)  clay  flack (edwards 74)  devine. subs not used: rice  todd.  ampadu  clay.  howard  phil neville  gary neville  o shea  fortune  giggs (saha 70)  miller (fletcher 66)  scholes  djemba-djemba (silvestre 80)  ronaldo  rooney. subs not used: ricardo  bellion.  ronaldo 9  rooney 87.  9 033.  p dowd (staffordshire).


curbishley delight for johansson charlton manager alan curbishley paid tribute to two-goal striker jonatan johansson after beating norwich.  curbishley said after the 4-0 win:  there was talk about norwich being interested in the summer but i have a lot of faith in jonatan.  when there was talk of other clubs i just told him he was going nowhere.  he s part of our squad and he got us a couple of important goals early on. i m sure he s happy here  but i was delighted with all the players.  curbishley was subjected to criticism from charlton fans recently  and he said:  the thing about this club is that we have got where we are by all pulling in the same direction.  that s happened for however long i ve been here and we don t want people taking sides.


nissan names successor to ghosn nissan has named a lifetime employee to run its operations after carlos ghosn  its highly successful boss  takes charge at renault.  as chief operating officer  toshiyuki shiga will run nissan on a daily basis  although mr ghosn  who masterminded its recovery  will remain chief executive. mr ghosn is to become chairman and chief executive of renault  which owns 44% of the japanese carmaker  in april. mr ghosn transformed nissan into a fast-growing and profitable business.  mr shiga will nominally serve as mr ghosn s deputy. however  he will be nissan s most senior japan-based executive and will be in charge of the firm s global sales and marketing.  he is currently in charge of nissan s operations across asia and australasia and is credited with significantly improving its sales in china. he will inherit a strong legacy from mr ghosn  who has overseen a dramatic turnaround in nissan s fortunes in the past five years. dubbed  le cost killer  for pushing through huge cost cuts in previous jobs  mr ghosn reduced nissan s overheads by 20% and trimmed its workforce by about 200 000 after taking charge in 1999. these actions helped nissan turn a 684bn yen ($6.4bn) loss in 2000 into a 331bn yen ($2.7bn) profit the following year. during his tenure  nissan has increased its market share and made significant strides in key export markets. nissan aims to increase vehicle sales to more than four million by 2008  launching 28 new models in the process.  in his new job as renault chief executive  mr ghosn will devote 40% of his time to renault  40% to nissan and the rest to the group s activities in north america and other key markets.  mr ghosn said mr shiga s appointment would ensure a  seamless  transition in management.  i need a leadership team capable of accelerating the performance and delivery of results that has characterized nissan over the past six years   mr ghosn said.  i have full confidence in toshiyuki shiga and the new leadership team to help me implement the next chapter of nissan s growth.  nissan also announced a number of other management appointments with promotions for several younger executives.


mobile gaming takes off in india gaming on the move is one of the fastest-growing activities among the tech-savvy in india  says a report.  the indian mobile gaming market is expected to generate about $26m (£13.8m) by the end of 2004  according to market analysts in-stat/mdr. in october  mobile phone users grew by 1.4 million to 44.9 million  overtaking the number of landlines  said the telecom regulatory authority of india. analysts say cheap rates and a huge youth market is driving the market. india has a large population of under-25s  and many in urban areas are fast adopting mobiles as must-have gadgets.  india s mobile gaming market will bring in about $336m (£178m) by 2009  according to the report. mobile gaming is expected to explode globally over the next few years. analysts predict that 220 million people will be playing games on phones by 2009  generating billions for mobile companies.  services other than just voice calls which are offered by mobile operators in india have  as a result of the huge rise in subscribers  grown significantly and rapidly.  the growth of this market sector has attracted publishers  developers  animators  musicians  and content providers  and is also stimulating the development of innovative business models   said clint wheelock  director of in-stat/mdr s wireless research group.   mobile gaming is not just about fun; it also represents one key element of a rich mobile entertainment experience for consumers  and a lucrative market opportunity for industry players.  currently  india has six big games developers and four mobile operators that offer games to their subscribers  said the report. according to in-stat/mdr  it is tipped to make up one of the most important markets in the next wave of mobile multimedia growth.  in january 2003  there were only 10 million mobile subscribers in india. many choose mobiles in rural areas in order to bypass poorer telecoms infrastructure. despite this  the penetration rate is still much lower that other countries. less than 20% of india s total population own a mobile in india  compared to well over 50% in most european countries. the trend echoes the uptake of mobiles in many developing economies  which continues to grow as people opt to leapfrog slower and more expensive state-run fixed-line operators.


fed warns of more us rate rises the us looks set for a continued boost to interest rates in 2005  according to the federal reserve.  minutes of the december meeting which pushed rates up to 2.25% showed that policy-makers at the fed are worried about accelerating inflation. the clear signal pushed the dollar up to $1.3270 to the euro by 0400 gmt on wednesday  but depressed us shares.  the markets are starting to fear a more aggressive fed in 2005   said richard yamarone of argus research. the dow jones index dropped almost 100 points on tuesday  with the nasdaq also falling as key tech stocks were hit by broker downgrades. the dollar also gained ground against sterling on tuesday  reaching $1.8832 to the pound before slipping slightly on wednesday morning.  the release of the minutes just three weeks after the 14 december meeting was much faster than usual  indicating the fed wants to keep markets more apprised of its thinking. this  too  is being taken in some quarters as a sign of aggressive moves on interest rates to come. the key fed funds rate has risen 1.25 percentage points during 2004 from the 46-year low of 1% reached not long after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. that long trough  might be contributing to signs of potentially excessive risk-taking in financial markets   said the federal open markets committee (fomc)  which sets interest rates. the odds now favour a further boost to rates at the next meeting in early february  economists said. but the respite for the dollar  which spent late 2003 being pushed lower against other major currencies by worries about massive us trade and budget deficits  may be short-lived.  you can t rule out a further correction... but we don t think it s a change in direction in the dollar   said jason daw at merrill lynch.  nothing fundamental has changed.


worldcom director admits lying the former chief financial officer at us telecoms firm worldcom has admitted before a new york court that he used to lie to fellow board members.  speaking at the trial of his former boss bernard ebbers  scott sullivan said he lied to the board to cover up the hole in worldcom s finances. mr ebbers is on trial for fraud and conspiracy in relation to worldcom s collapse in 2002. he pleads not guilty. the firm had been overstating its accounts by $11bn (£8.5bn). mr sullivan  42  has already pleaded guilty to fraud and will be sentenced following mr ebbers  trial  where he is appearing as a prosecution witness. mr ebbers  63  has always insisted that he was unaware of any hidden shortfalls in worldcom s finances.  in the new york court on wednesday  mr ebbers  lawyer reid weingarten asked mr sullivan:  if you believe something is in your interest  you are willing and able to lie to accomplish it  isn t that right     on that date  yes. i was lying   replied mr sullivan. mr weingarten has suggested that mr sullivan is implicating mr ebbers only to win a lighter sentence  something mr sullivan denies. mr sullivan also rejects a suggestion that he had once told fellow worldcom board member bert roberts that mr ebbers was unaware of the accounting fraud at worldcom. the trial of mr ebbers is now into its third week.  under 23 hours of questioning from a federal prosecutor  mr sullivan has previously told the court that he repeatedly warned mr ebbers that falsifying the books would be the only way to meet wall street revenue and earnings expectations. mr sullivan claims that mr ebbers refused to stop the fraud. mr ebbers could face a sentence of 85 years if convicted of all the charges he is facing. worldcom s problems appear to have begun with the collapse of the dotcom boom which cut its business from internet companies. prosecutors allege that the company s top executives responded by orchestrating massive fraud over a two-year period. worldcom emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2004  and is now known as mci.


ge sees  excellent  world economy us behemoth general electric has posted an 18% jump in quarterly sales  and in profits  and declared itself  in great shape .   we are benefiting from our growth initiatives and an excellent global economy   said ge s chief executive jeff immelt. ge is the us  biggest firm based on stock market valuation. ge s net profits were $5.37bn (£2.86bn) for the final three months of 2004  while sales came in at $43.7bn. the group  whose businesses range from jet engines to the nbc television channel  forecast sustained growth at between 10-15% for this year and next. ge s shares rose 1% on the news before ending friday 0.24% lower.   the industries ge is in are doing very well. the materials  financial and industrial sectors are all picking up   said steve roukis  an analyst at fund manager matrix asset advisors  which has shares in ge. ge said orders in the fourth quarter were 15% higher than in the same period of 2003   with growth across the board .  in the fourth quarter  nine of our 11 businesses delivered at least double-digit earnings growth   said mr immelt. full year 2004 gains were less spectacular  but still respectable. net profit was up 6% at $16.6bn. last year  ge bought vivendi universal  merging it with nbc to form nbc universal. the success of universal studio s film  ray   a portrait of jazz musician ray charles  has helped boost earnings at the unit.


warnings on woeful wi-fi security companies are getting worse at keeping their wireless data networks secure.  a survey of wi-fi networks in london  frankfurt  new york and san francisco by rsa security found more than a third had basic security features turned off. by contrast last year s survey found that 15% of firms had failed to take basic steps to improve security. rsa warned that wi-fi s growing popularity made it much more likely that insecure networks would be found and exploited.  wireless or wi-fi networks have become hugely popular over the last few years in offices because they are easy to set up and make going online much more convenient. this popularity shows no sign of slowing reveals the annual rsa security and netsurity survey which found an annual 66% growth rate in the number of wireless nets being installed in london and frankfurt. although most firms do take steps to turn on the security functions built in to the wi-fi standard and protect themselves from attack  the survey found that a significant proportion were taking unnecessary risks. on average 33% of the wireless networks found by rsa and netsurity researchers in london  frankfurt  new york and san francisco had not used basic security systems. many firms were simply turning on their wireless net access points and use default settings that anyone familiar with wi-fi could easily find out. rsa said that 26% of wi-fi networks found london used default settings compared to 30% in frankfurt  31% in new york and 28% in san francisco. many users of wi-fi nets did not even turn on the encryption that scrambles data traffic between users and the access point helping them go online. this is despite a series of stories warning firms about the dangers of  drive-by hacking  in which computer criminals walk or drive around city centres using easy to use tools to spot wi-fi nets.  these figures are another stark warning to unsecured businesses to get their act together   said phil cracknell  chief technology officer at netsurity. as more public wi-fi hotspots appear and people become more familiar with using them  it was getting more likely that insecure would be found  warned mr cracknell.  accidental or intentional connection to a corporate network can bring with it a series of security issues including loss of confidential data and installation of malicious code   he said.


sec to rethink post-enron rules the us stock market watchdog s chairman has said he is willing to soften tough new us corporate governance rules to ease the burden on foreign firms.  in a speech at the london school of economics  william donaldson promised  several initiatives . european firms have protested that us laws introduced after the enron scandal make wall street listings too costly. the us regulator said foreign firms may get extra time to comply with a key clause in the sarbanes-oxley act.  the act comes into force in mid-2005. it obliges all firms with us stock market listings to make declarations  which  critics say  will add substantially to the cost of preparing their annual accounts.  firms that break the new law could face huge fines  while senior executives risk jail terms of up to 20 years. mr donaldson said that although the act does not provide exemptions for foreign firms  the securities and exchange commission (sec) would  continue to be sensitive to the need to accomodate foreign structures and requirements . there are few  if any  who disagree with the intentions of the act  which obliges chief executives to sign a statement taking responsibility for the accuracy of the accounts. but european firms with secondary listings in new york have objected - arguing that the compliance costs outweigh the benefits of a dual listing. the act also applies to firms with more than 300 us shareholders  a situation many firms without us listings could find themselves in.  the 300-shareholder threshold has drawn anger as it effectively blocks the most obvious remedy  a delisting. mr donaldson said the sec would  consider whether there should be a new approach to the deregistration process  for foreign firms unwilling to meet us requirements.   we should seek a solution that will preserve investor protections  without turning the us market into  one with no exit   he said. he revealed that his staff were already weighing up the merits of delaying the implementation of the act s least popular measure - section 404 - for foreign firms. seen as particularly costly to implement  section 404 obliges chief executives to take responsibility for the firm s internal controls by signing a compliance statement in the annual accounts. the sec has already delayed implementation of this clause for smaller firms - including us ones - with market capitalisations below $700m (£374m).  a delegation of european firms visited the sec in december to press for change  the financial times reported.  it was led by digby jones  director general of the uk s confederation of british industry (cbi) and included representatives of basf  siemens and cadbury schweppes. compliance costs are already believed to be making firms wary of us listings. air china picked the london stock exchange for its secondary listing in its $1.07bn (£558m) stock market debut last month. there are also rumours that two chinese state-run banks - china construction bank and bank of china - have abandoned plans for multi-billion dollar listings in new york later this year. instead  the cost of sarbanes-oxley has persuaded them to stick to a single listing in hong kong  according to press reports in china.


sbc plans post-takeover job cuts us phone company sbc communications said it expects to cut around 12 800 jobs following its $16bn (£8.5bn) takeover of former parent at&t.  sbc said 5 125 positions would go as a result of network efficiencies. another 1 700 will go from its sales department  3 400 from business operations and 2 600 across legal  advertising and public relations. sbc currently employs 163 000 people while at&t employs 47 000. the takeover was announced on monday. the deal will be financed with $15bn of shares as well as a $1bn special dividend paid to at&t shareholders.  it effectively marks the end of at&t  which was founded in 1875 by telephone pioneer alexander graham bell and is one of the us s best-known companies. sbc and at&t said estimated cost savings of at least $2bn from 2008 were a main driver for the merger. at&t is a long-distance telecoms firm  while sbc is mainly focused on the local market in the western us. both also have data network businesses. the takeover is subject to approval by at&t s shareholders and regulators. the companies said they expected to complete the agreement during the first half of 2006.


wru proposes season overhaul the welsh rugby union wants to restructure the northern hemisphere season into four separate blocks.  the season would start with the celtic league in october  followed by the heineken cup in february and march  and the six nations moved to april and may. after a nine week break  the wru then proposes a two-month period of away and home international matches. wru chairman david pickering said the structure would end problems of player availability for club and country. he added:  we feel sure that spectator interest would respond to the impetus of high intensity rugby being played continuously rather than the fragmented timetable currently in operation.  equally  we suspect that the sponsors would prefer the sustained interest in a continuous tournament and hopefully  the broadcasters would also enjoy increased exposure.  moving the six nations from its traditional february beginning should also ensure better weather conditions and  stimulate greater interest in the games and generally provide increased skills and competition and attract greater spectator viewing   pickering argued. the plan will be put before the international rugby board next month  where four other plans drawn up by independent consultants for a global integrated season will also be discussed. pickering added:  it s very early days and there are a number of caveats associated with it - not least the revenue from the broadcasters  which is extremely important.  we ve got a good plan and one which should be judged on its merits.


italy to get economic action plan italian prime minister silvio berlusconi will unveil plans aimed at kickstarting the country s sputtering economy on thursday night in rome.  he will present an  action plan for the development of italy  in a meeting with industrialists and trade union leaders. mr berlusconi is expected to table reforms aimed at boosting research and development (r&d) spending  and the competitiveness of small firms. also in focus will be bankruptcy laws and the slow pace of the legal system. the prime minister is scheduled to start the meeting at 1830 gmt.  the government has been accused of underfunding r&d  making it harder for italy to compete with other european nations and leading to a  brain-drain  of the country s brightest talents. analysts say that hiring and firing staff is still too difficult and expensive  hampering the development of small- and medium-sized businesses. as a result  they say  italy s corporate landscape is filled with numerous smaller companies that are often reluctant to become bigger because of all the extra hassle that would accompany the running of a larger firm. at the same time  bankruptcy laws make it difficult for failed company directors to set up new businesses and emerge from their debts  a situation that is hampering italy s entrepreneurial spirit.  the government says that it has set about tackling the problems  adding that getting growth going was the responsibility of all of italy s 60 million population. according to il sole 24 ore  italy s business newspaper  the government will focus on  opening up markets  infrastructure  research  making more incentives available  bankruptcy law  the slow pace of the justice system .  mr berlusconi has previously promised to cut taxes by 6.5bn euros ($8.6bn; £4.5bn) this year in an effort to get people and companies to spend. he has also promised to cap spending on transport  education and health so as to trim the ballooning budget deficit. italy plans to raise as much as 25bn euros from privatisations in 2005  including a partial flotation of the post office and utility enel. critics argue that these moves do not go far enough and could make italy s problems worse. limiting government spending will lead to job losses  they counter  while the income tax cuts will have a negligible effect on sentiment and ultimately favour the wealthy.  the country has been one of the eurozone s worst economic performers in recent years. growth was 1.1% in 2004  up from just 0.3% in 2003 and 0.4% in 2002 - an improvement but still a long way from ideal. at the same time  business and consumer confidence has dipped and analysts have raised concerns that what little spending there is stems from italians dipping into their savings accounts or using credit cards. without a pick up in national growth  they say  the money could eventually run out  bringing italy s economy to a juddering halt. consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of italy s economy.


business fears over sluggish eu economy as european leaders gather in rome on friday to sign the new eu constitution  many companies will be focusing on matters much closer to home - namely how to stay in business.  lille is a popular tourist destination for britons who want a taste of france at the weekend. but how many tourists look at the impressively grand victorian chambre de commerce  which stands beside the opera house  and consider that it was built - like the town halls in many northern english towns - on the wealth created by coal  steel and textiles  like northern england and industrial scotland  those industries have been in long term decline - the last coal pit closed in 1990. beck-crespel is a specialist steel firm in armentieres  about 20 miles from lille. the company has not laid off a worker since 1945. it specialises in making bolts and fixings for power stations and the oil industry  but not many of those are being built in europe these days.  director hugues charbonnier says he is under pressure because factories in the far east are able to make some of his output more cheaply  while his key markets are now in china and india.  in our business the market is absolutely global  you can not imagine living with our size (of business) even within an enlarged european union  (if we did that) we would need not 350 people but perhaps just 150 or 200   he says. it isn t just globalisation that is hurting; the law in france means workers are paid for a 39 hour week even though they work just 35 hours. but at least there is still a steel industry. coal has now totally vanished and textiles are struggling. new business has been attracted  but not enough to make up the difference.  that is one reason why people here are not great fans of the eu  says frederic sawicki  a politics lecturer at the university of lille.   in the region today the unemployment rate is 12%  in some areas it is 15%. they don t see what europe is doing for them  so there is a kind of euro scepticism  especially in the working classes   he says. which is strange because lille is at the crossroads of europe - if anywhere should be benefiting from the euro it is here. the euro was designed to increase trade within the eurozone  but the biggest increase in trade has been with the rest of the world. much of that trade passes through the world s largest port  rotterdam  in holland  home to specialist crane maker huisman itrec. its cranes help build oil rigs and lifted the sunken russian submarine kursk from the sea bed  but huisman itrec is now setting up a factory in china  where costs are cheaper and its main customers are closer.  boss henk addink blames the low growth rate in europe for the lack of orders closer to home.  in the us growth is something like 6%  in china they are estimating 15%  and in the eu it is more or less 1%   he says. mr addink blames the euro for stifling demand. he much preferred the old currencies of europe  which moved in relation to each country s economic performance. in germany  industry is exporting more these days  but the economy as a whole is once again mired in slow growth and high unemployment. growth is likely to peak this year at just under 2%. in britain that would be a bad year; in germany it is one of the best in recent years. with germany making up a third of the eurozone s economy  this is a major problem. if germany doesn t once again become the powerhouse of europe  growth across the bloc is never going to be as strong as it could be. however  at one factory near the dutch border things are changing.  the siemens plant at boscholt makes cordless phones and employs 2 000 staff. staff have started working an extra four hours a week for no extra pay  after siemens threatened to take the factory and their jobs to hungary. factory manager herbert stueker says that he now hopes to increase productivity  by nearly 30% . but germany needs much more reform if all its industry is to compete with places such hungary or china. the government is reforming the labour market and cutting the generous unemployment system  but the real solution is to cut the wages of low skilled workers  says helmut schneider  director of the institute for the study of labour at bonn university.  labour is too costly in germany  especially for the low skilled labour and this is the main problem. if we could solve that problem we could cut unemployment by half   he says. the eu set itself the target of being the most efficient economy in the world by 2010. four years into that process  and the target seems further away than ever.


china net cafe culture crackdown chinese authorities closed 12 575 net cafes in the closing months of 2004  the country s government said.  according to the official news agency most of the net cafes were closed down because they were operating illegally. chinese net cafes operate under a set of strict guidelines and many of those most recently closed broke rules that limit how close they can be to schools. the move is the latest in a series of steps the chinese government has taken to crack down on what it considers to be immoral net use.  the official xinhua news agency said the crackdown was carried out to create a  safer environment for young people in china . rules introduced in 2002 demand that net cafes be at least 200 metres away from middle and elementary schools. the hours that children can use net cafes are also tightly regulated. china has long been worried that net cafes are an unhealthy influence on young people. the 12 575 cafes were shut in the three months from october to december. china also tries to dictate the types of computer games people can play to limit the amount of violence people are exposed to.  net cafes are hugely popular in china because the relatively high cost of computer hardware means that few people have pcs in their homes. this is not the first time that the chinese government has moved against net cafes that are not operating within its strict guidelines. all the 100 000 or so net cafes in the country are required to use software that controls what websites users can see. logs of sites people visit are also kept. laws on net cafe opening hours and who can use them were introduced in 2002 following a fire at one cafe that killed 25 people. during the crackdown following the blaze authorities moved to clean up net cafes and demanded that all of them get permits to operate. in august 2004 chinese authorities shut down 700 websites and arrested 224 people in a crackdown on net porn. at the same time it introduced new controls to block overseas sex sites. the reporters without borders group said in a report that chinese government technologies for e-mail interception and net censorship are among the most highly developed in the world.


google launches tv search service the net search giant google has launched a search service that lets people look for tv programmes.  the service  google video beta  searches closed caption information that comes with programmes. it only searches us channel content currently. results list programmes with still images and text from the point where the search phrase was spoken. it should expand over time to include content from more channels  said a google spokesperson. the first version of the service is part of google s expanding efforts to be a ubiquitous search engine for people to find what they want on the web and beyond.  we think tv is a big part of people s lives   said jonathan rosenberg  google s vice president of product management.  ultimately  we would like to have all tv programming indexed.   google video has been indexing us-based programmes from pbs  the nba  fox news  and c-span since december. but there were few clues from google about when more global broadcasters would be included.  over time  we plan to increase the number of television channels and video content available via google video but don t have more product details to share with you today   a google spokesperson told the bbc news website.  the results thrown up by the search will also include programme and episode information like channel  date and time. it also lets people find the next time and channel where a programme will aired locally using a us zip code search function. rival search engine yahoo has been developing a similar type of video search for webcasts and tv clips which it promotes from its homepage. it offers direct links to websites with movies or other clips relevant to the search query  but does not pinpoint when the search query occurred. a spokeswoman told the financial times on monday that yahoo was adding captioning for bloomberg  bbc and bskyb broadcasts. a smaller service  blinkx.tv  was launched last month. it searches for and links to tv news  film trailers  and other video and audio clips.


gadget show heralds mp3 christmas partners of those who love their hi-tech gear may want to get their presents in early as experts predict a gadget shortage this christmas.  with apple s ipod topping wish lists again  there may not be enough ipod minis to go round  predicts oliver irish  editor of gadget magazine stuff.  the ipod mini is likely to be this year s tracey island   said mr irish. stuff has compiled a list of the top 10 gadgets for 2004 and the ipod is at number one.  for anyone bewildered by the choice of gadgets on the market  stuff and what hi-fi  are hosting a best-of gadget show in london this weekend. star of the show will be sony s qrio robot  an all-singing  all-dancing  football-playing man-machine who can even hold intelligent conversations.  but he is not for sale and sony has no commercial plans for the robot.  he will greet visitors and is flying in from japan. he probably has his own airplane seat  that is how highly sony prize him   said mr irish. also on display will be a virtual keyboard which projects itself onto any flat surface. the event will play host to a large collection of digital music players  from companies such as creative  sony and philips as well as the ubiquitously fashionable ipod from apple. suggestions that it could be a gaming or wireless christmas are unlikely to come true as mp3 players remain the most popular stocking filler  said mr irish.  demand is huge and apple has promised that it can supply enough but people might struggle to get their hands on ipod minis   said mr irish.  for those who like their gadgets to be multi-talented  the gizmondo  a powerful gaming console with gps and gprs  that also doubles up as an mp3 player  movie player and camera  could be a must-have.  what is impressive is how much it can do and how well it can do them   said mr irish. this christmas  gadgets will not be an all-male preserve.  women will be getting gadgets from husbands and boyfriends as well as buying them for themselves   said mr irish.  gadgets nowadays are lifestyle products rather than just for geeks.


small firms  hit by rising costs  rising fuel and materials costs are hitting confidence among the uk s small manufacturers despite a rise in output  business lobby group the cbi says.  a cbi quarterly survey found output had risen by the fastest rate in seven years but many firms were seeing the benefits offset by increasing expenses. the cbi also found spending on innovation  training and retraining is forecast to go up over the next year. however  firms continue to scale back investment in buildings and machinery.  the cbi said companies are looking to the government to lessen the regulatory load and are hoping interest rates will be kept on hold.  smaller manufacturers are facing an uphill struggle   said hugh morgan williams  chair of the cbi s sme council.  the manufacturing sector needs a period of long-term stability in the economy.  the cbi found some firms managed to increase prices for the first time in nine years - but many said increases failed to keep up the rise in costs. of the companies surveyed  30% saw orders rise and 27% saw them fall. the positive balance of plus 3 compared with minus 10 in the previous survey. when firms were questioned on output volume  the survey returned a balance of plus 8 - the highest rate of increase for seven years - and rose to plus 11 when looking ahead to the next three months.


bp surges ahead on high oil price oil giant bp has announced a 26% rise in annual profits to $16.2bn (£8.7bn) on the back of record oil prices.  last week  rival shell reported an annual profit of $17.5bn - a record profit for a uk-listed company. bp added that it was increasing its fourth-quarter dividend by 26% to 8.5 cents  and that it would continue with share buybacks. bp chief executive lord browne said the results were strong  both operationally and financially.   the company is earning about $1.8m an hour.  despite the record annual profits figure  bp s performance was below the expectations of some city analysts. however  bp s share price rose 4p or nearly 1% in morning trading to 548p. its profit rise for the year included profits of $3.65bn (£1.97bn) for the final three months of 2004 - up from $2.89bn a year ago but below its third quarter.  speaking on the bbc s today programme on tuesday  lord browne said the profits were not solely down to the high oil price alone.   the profits are up more than the price of oil is up   he said. lord browne pointed out that bp was reaping the benefits of its investment in oil exploration.  we have spent many years buying (assets) when the price is low   he said. the company has made new discoveries in egypt  the gulf of mexico and angola.  however  lord browne rejected calls for a windfall tax on his company s huge profits  saying that in the north sea it paid progressively more tax  the more profits it made. lord browne believes oil prices will remain quite high. currently above $40 a barrel  he said:  the price of oil will be well supported above $30 a barrel for the medium term.  bp put production for the year at 3.997 billion barrels of oil  up 10% on 2003  but slightly lower than the four billion barrels it had initially aimed for.


the gaming world in 2005 if you have finished doom 3  half life 2 and halo 2  don t worry. there s a host of gaming gems set for release in 2005.   world of warcraft   the us reception to this game from developers blizzard has been hugely enthusiastic  with the title topping its competitors in the area of life-eating  high-fantasy  massively multiplayer role-player gaming. solid  diverse  accessible and visually striking  it may well open up the genre like never before. if nothing else  it will develop a vast and loyal community. released 25 february on pc. ico 2 (working title) ico remains a benchmark for ps2 gaming  a title that took players into a uniquely atmospheric and artistic world of adventure. the (spiritual) sequel has visuals that echo those of the original  but promises to expand the ico world  with hero wanda taking on a series of giants. the other known working title is wanda and colossus. release date to be confirmed on ps2. the legend of zelda   the charismatic cel imagery has been scrapped in favour of a dark  detailed aesthetic (realism isn t quite the right word) that connects more with ocarina of time. link resumes his more teenage incarnation too  though enemies  elements and moves look familiar from the impressive trailer that has been released. horseback adventuring across a vast land is promised. release date to be confirmed on gamecube. advance wars ds the uk nintendo ds launch line-up is still to be confirmed at time of writing  but titles that exploit its two-screen and touch capacity  like warioware touched! and sega s feel the magic  are making a strong impression in other territories. personally  i can t wait for the latest advance wars  the franchise that has been the icing on the cake of nintendo handheld gaming during the past few years. release date to be confirmed on ds. s.t.a.l.k.e.r.   following in the high-spec footsteps of far cry and half-life 2  this looks like the key upcoming pc first-person shooter (with role-playing elements). the fact that it is inspired in part by andrei tarkovsky s enigmatic 1979 masterpiece stalker and set in 2012 in the disaster zone  a world of decay and mutation  makes it all the more intriguing. released 1 march on pc. metal gear solid: snake eater   more hideo kojima serious stealth  featuring action in the soviet-controlled jungle in 1964. the game see snake having to survive on his wits in the jungle  including eating wildlife. once again  expect cinematic cut scenes and polished production values. released march on ps2. dead or alive ultimate tecmo s team ninja are back with retooled and revamped versions of dead or alive 1 and 2. here s the big  big deal though - they re playable over xbox live. released 11 march on xbox. knights of the old republic ii looks set to build on the acclaimed original star wars role playing game with new characters  new force powers and a new set of moral decisions  despite a different developer. released 11 february on xbox and pc.


microsoft sets sights on spyware windows users could soon be paying microsoft to keep pcs free of spyware.  following the takeover of anti-spyware firm giant  microsoft said it would soon release a toolkit that strips machines of the irritating programs. although initially free  microsoft has not ruled out charging people who want to keep this toolkit up to date. surveys show that almost every windows pc is infested with spyware programs that do everything from bombard users with adverts to steal login data. microsoft said that a beta version of the toolkit to clean up windows machines should be available within 30 days.  designed for pcs running windows 2000 and xp  the utility will clean out spyware programs  constantly monitor what happens on a pc and will be regularly updated to catch the latest variants. before now many of microsoft s other security boosting programs  such as the firewall in windows xp  have been given away free. but mike nash  vice president in microsoft s security business unit  said it was still working out pricing and licensing issues. charging for future versions has not been discounted  he said.  we ll come up with a plan and roll that out   he said. the plan could turn out to be a lucrative one for microsoft. a recent survey by earthlink and webroot found that 90% of pcs are infested with the surreptitious software and that  on average  each one is harbouring 28 separate spyware programs. currently users wanting protection from spyware have turned to free programs such as spybot and ad-aware. spyware comes in many forms and at its most benign exploits lazy browsing habits to install itself and subject users to unwanted adverts. other forms hijack net browser settings to force people to view pages they would otherwise never visit. at its most malign  spyware watches everything that people do with their pc and steals login information and other personal data. microsoft s announcement about spyware comes after it bought small new york software firm giant company software. terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.


movie body hits peer-to-peer nets the movie industry has struck out at file-sharing networks with another round of lawsuits in the us.  the motion picture association of america (mpaa) also said it had succeeded in getting a network called lokitorrent closed down. it is the latest network which uses the peer-to-peer system called bittorrent to be hit by the mpaa. the mpaa began its legal campaign against operators of similar networks across four continents in december. a dallas court agreed that hollywood lawyers would be allowed access to lokitorrent s server records which could let them single out those who were sharing files illegally. in october 2004  the site had provided links to more than 30 000 files. the action came after the operators of lokitorrent agreed a settlement with the mpaa. a stark message has appeared on the site from the mpaa warning  you can click  but you can t hide . in bittorrent systems  server sites do not host the files being shared. they host links  called  trackers  that direct people to others that have it instead.  as well as filing an unspecified number of file suits across the us  the mpaa said it had given operators that host edonkey servers  take down  notices. hollywood studios are aggressively clamping down on file-sharers who it says infringe copyright laws by copying films and tv programmes then share the files online. but it is now targeting the operators of bittorrent networks themselves. it has filed 100 lawsuits against operators of bittorrent server sites since december. the strategy of hitting those who run the servers which link to copyrighted material is intended to stunt file-sharers  ability to swap content using bittorrent systems. the film industry says the black market for illegally copied videos and dvds already costs them billions every year and it is worried that illegal file-sharing is adding to their losses. in december  the legal action claimed its most high-profile victim. the popular suprnova.org website was forced to close  and others like phoenix torrent followed soon after.


fast moving phone viruses appear security firms are warning about several mobile phone viruses that can spread much faster than similar bugs.  the new strains of the cabir mobile phone virus use short-range radio technology to leap to any vulnerable phone as soon as it is in range. the cabir virus only affects high-end handsets running the symbian series 60 phone operating system. despite the warnings  there are so far no reports of any phones being infected by the new variants of cabir.  the original cabir worm came to light in mid-june 2004 when it was sent to anti-virus firms as a proof-of-concept program. a mistake in the way the original cabir was written meant that even if it escaped from the laboratory  the bug would only have been able to infect one phone at a time.  however  the new cabir strains have this mistake corrected and will spread via short range bluetooth technology to any vulnerable phone in range. bluetooth has an effective range of a few tens of metres. the risk of being infected by cabir is low because users must give the malicious program permission to download on to their handset and then must manually install it. users can protect themselves by altering a setting on symbian phones that conceals the handset from other bluetooth using devices. finnish security firm f-secure issued a warning about the new strains of cabir but said that the viruses do not do any damage to a phone. all they do is block normal bluetooth activity and drain the phone s battery. anti-virus firm sophos said the source code for cabir had been posted on the net by a brazilian programmer which might lead to even more variants of the program being created. so far seven versions of cabir are know to exist  one of which was inside the malicious skulls program that was found in late november. symbian s series 60 software is licenced by nokia  lg electronics  lenovo  panasonic  samsung  sendo and siemens.


robinson wants dual code success england rugby union captain jason robinson has targeted dual code success over australia on saturday.  robinson  a former rugby league international before switching codes in 2000  leads england against australia at twickenham at 1430 gmt. and at 1815 gmt  great britain s rugby league team take on australia in the final of the tri-nations tournament.  beating the aussies in both games would be a massive achievement  especially for league   said robinson. england have the chance to seal their third autumn international victory after successive wins over canada and south africa  as well as gaining revenge for june s 51-15 hammering by the wallabies. meanwhile  great britain could end 34 years of failure against australia with victory at elland road. britain have won individual test matches  but have failed to secure any silverware or win the ashes (with a series victory) since 1970.   they have a great opportunity to land a trophy and it would be a massive boost for rugby league in this country if we won   said robinson.  i know the boys can do it - they ve defeated the aussies once already in the tri-nations.  but robinson was not losing sight of the task facing his england side in their final autumn international.  for us  we ve played two and won two this november   he said.  if we beat australia it would be the end to a great autumn series for england. if we stumble then we ll be looking back with a few regrets. robinson also revealed that the union side had sent the great britain team a good luck message ahead of the showdown in leeds.  we signed a card for them today and will write them an email on saturday wishing them all the best   said robinson.  everyone has signed the card - a lot of the guys watch league and we support them fully.  both games will be very tough and hopefully we ll both do well.


egypt and israel seal trade deal in a sign of a thaw in relations between egypt and israel  the two countries have signed a trade protocol with the us  allowing egyptian goods made in partnership with israeli firms free access to american markets.  the protocol  signed in cairo  will establish what are called  qualified industrial zones  in egypt. products from these zones will enjoy duty free access to the us  provided that 35% of their components are the product of israeli-egyptian cooperation. the us describes this as the most important economic agreement between egypt and israel in two decades.  the protocol establishing the zones has been stalled for years. there has been deep sensitivity in egypt about any form of co-operation with israel as long as its peace process with the palestinians remains blocked. but in recent weeks an unusual warmth has crept into relations between the two countries. both exchanged prisoners earlier this month  with egypt handing back an israeli who has served eight years in prison after being convicted for spying.  egyptian president hosni mubarak has described israeli prime minister ariel sharon as the best chance for the palestinians to achieve peace. the government in cairo now believes mr sharon is moving towards the centre and away from the positions of right wing groups. it also believes the us  pressed by europe  is now more willing to engage seriously in the search for a settlement. but there are also pressing economic reasons for egypt s decision to enter into the trade agreement. it will give a huge boost to egyptian textile exports  which are about to suffer a drop after new regulations come into force in the us at the beginning of the year.


desailly backs blues revenge trip marcel desailly insists there is no chance of history repeating itself when chelsea take on barcelona on wednesday.  the french star was part of the chelsea side crushed 5-1 at the nou camp in the champions league quarter-final second leg in 2000.  things will be totally different this time   he told bbc sport.  now everyone knows about chelsea and is a little bit afraid of them. they are one of the major clubs in europe and the pressure will be on barcelona.  chelsea have not played barcelona since that quarter-final tie five years ago. the blues had looked destined to progress after winning the first leg at stamford bridge 3-1  courtesy of two goals from tore andre flo and one by gianfranco zola. but they collapsed in the second leg  going down to strikes from rivaldo (2)  luis figo  dani and patrick kluivert.  former chelsea captain desailly  who is now playing for al-gharafa in qatar  says there is no comparison between that side and the current blues team  who are top of the premiership.  mentally they are much stronger  even though a lot of their players are young   the 36-year-old said.  we made some mistakes at the nou camp in 2000 - a lot of them were individual mistakes.  it would not happen now. this team has a new motivation and a different mentality.  world cup winner desailly saw huge changes during his time at stamford bridge. he was signed for £4.6m from ac milan in 1998 by ruud gullit and went on to play under gianluca vialli and claudio ranieri. but the biggest change occurred when billionaire roman abramovich bought the club in 2003. desailly says the russian s arrival helped to instil a winning mentality at the club as well as a demand for success.  the whole of chelsea is different now - the chairman  the manager and all the players   he said.   everything is new and there is a huge determination to win.  since that game in 2000  chelsea have gained more experience in europe and were very close to reaching the champions league final last season.  desailly is one of the most decorated players in the history of football. he won the 1998 world cup and 2000 european championship with france  the champions league in 1993 with marseilles and 1994 with ac milan  two serie a titles and the fa cup in 2000 with chelsea.  he is now winding down his career in qatar  alongside the likes of frank lebeouf  josep guardiola  titi camara  gabriel batistuta and christophe dugarry. so he is full of admiration for two of his colleagues from the great milan side of the mid-90s who are likely to line up against manchester united on wednesday - paolo maldini and alessandro costacurta.  i m happy that they have managed to play so long at a high level   he said.  i made a vow to costacurta that as long as he plays  i will continue to play.  and it s amazing that paolo has managed to play at such a high level for such a long time.


japan narrowly escapes recession japan s economy teetered on the brink of a technical recession in the three months to september  figures show.  revised figures indicated growth of just 0.1% - and a similar-sized contraction in the previous quarter. on an annual basis  the data suggests annual growth of just 0.2%  suggesting a much more hesitant recovery than had previously been thought. a common technical definition of a recession is two successive quarters of negative growth.  the government was keen to play down the worrying implications of the data.  i maintain the view that japan s economy remains in a minor adjustment phase in an upward climb  and we will monitor developments carefully   said economy minister heizo takenaka. but in the face of the strengthening yen making exports less competitive and indications of weakening economic conditions ahead  observers were less sanguine.  it s painting a picture of a recovery... much patchier than previously thought   said paul sheard  economist at lehman brothers in tokyo. improvements in the job market apparently have yet to feed through to domestic demand  with private consumption up just 0.2% in the third quarter.


scotland 18-10 italy six chris paterson penalties gave scotland victory in a dour but clinical encounter against italy at murrayfield.  coach matt williams  side were outmuscled and outplayed in a tense first half but led 6-3 at the break. paterson slotted four more second-half penalties and scotland were denied a try when wing sean lamont s touchdown was ruled out for a forward pass. a late andrea masi try was small consolation for italy  chasing their first away win in the six nations. scotland came out on top of the early exchanges and took a quick 3-0 lead through the boot of full-back paterson. but the more powerful azzurri pack eventually rumbled into life.  a series of drives into scottish territory set up a penalty attempt  missed by full-back roland de marigny  and a wayward drop-goal effort from luciano orquera. scotland defended the initial thrusts but on 20 minutes italy  after coming up yards short of the line  equalised through a de marigny penalty. italy were offered another penalty when scottish flanker simon taylor was offside but the left-footed de marigny pushed his kick wide. scotland finally made the most of a rare foray into the italian half and snatched three points from paterson when an italian forward handled the ball in a ruck.  as the half wore on  both sides squandered promising spells of momentum with sloppy penalties  and the period fizzled out with scotland numerically  if not psychologically  on top. italy s de marigny narrowly missed a chance to level the scores again shortly after the break but his long-range kick shaved the right upright. and scotland capitalised with a third paterson penalty on 50 minutes. williams  side seemed to have found a spark from somewhere and  after a couple of probing attacks  paterson was able to slot another three points to widen the gap.  with the pendulum of possession swinging towards scotland  lamont thought he had wriggled over in the left corner after 65 minutes but play was recalled for a marginal forward pass from paterson. another paterson penalty on 70 minutes kept the pressure on the wilting visitors. but john kirwan s men had the last laugh when gordon ross  attempted clearance was charged down and masi pounced for the try  converted by de marigny.  : c paterson; s webster  a craig  h southwell  s lamont; d parks  c cusiter; t smith  g bulloch (capt)  g kerr; s grimes  s murray; s taylor  j petrie  a hogg.  r russell  b douglas  n hines  j dunbar  m blair  g ross  b hinshelwood.  r de marigny; mirco bergamasco  c stoica  a masi  l nitoglia; l orquera  a troncon; a lo cicero  f ongaro  m castrogiovanni; s dellape  m bortolami (capt); a persico  d dal maso  s parisse.  g intoppa  s perugini  ca del fava  s orlando  p griffen  r pedrazzi  kp robertson.


dent continues adelaide progress american taylor dent reached the final of the australian hardcourt event in adelaide with a crushing 6-1 6-1 win over argentine juan ignacio chela.  dent will meet swede joachim johansson on sunday after the second seed survived a tense tie-break to defeat belgium s olivier rochus 6-1 7-6 (7/5). johansson  the boyfriend of lleyton hewitt s sister jaslyn  received strong crowd support on saturday.  it feels like home for me  because jaslyn lives here   said johansson. rochus was leading 5-4 in the second set tiebreak but his concentration was ruffled by a disputed line call and the match slipped away.  it was so close - one mistake like this and the match is over  it s tough. for me  it was clearly out   rochus said.


chinese dam firm  defies beijing  the china three gorges project corp is refusing to obey a government order to stop construction of one of its giant dams  the chinese state press has said.  the builder of the three gorges dam is continuing work on the sister xiluodu dam  said the beijing news. the xiluodu dam is one of 30 such large-scale construction projects called to a halt because of a lack of proper environmental checks. the beijing news said the company may instead choose to pay a fine. the firm has also ignored orders to stop construction at two of its other projects - the three gorges underground power plant and the three gorges project electrical power supply plant.  so far  only 22 of the 30 construction projects targeted by china s state environmental protection agency (sepa) for having not carried out mandatory environmental impact assessments have complied with its shutdown order. the china three gorges project corp could now face a fine up to 200 000 yuan ($24 000; £12 700). last week  it denied that its projects violated regulations.  the three gorges corporation has all along abided by the law and have built our projects in accordance with the law   it said.  the sepa order comes as the chinese government appears to be trying to cool the country s booming economy. previously it has encouraged construction of new electricity generating capacity to solve chronic energy shortages  which forced many factories into part-time working last year. in 2004  china increased its generating capacity by 12.6% to 440 700 megawatts (mw). the xiluodu dam is designed to produce 12 600 mw of electricity  and is being built on the jinshajiang - or  river of golden sand  as the upper reaches of the yangtze are known. it is a sister project to the main three gorges dam downstream where more than half a million people have had to be relocated  drawing criticism from environmental groups and overseas human rights activists.


christmas shoppers flock to tills shops all over the uk reported strong sales on the last saturday before christmas with some claiming record-breaking numbers of festive shoppers.  a spokesman for manchester s trafford centre said it was  the biggest christmas to date  with sales up 5%. and the regent street association said shops in central london were also expecting the  best christmas ever . that picture comes despite reports of disappointing festive sales in the last couple of weeks.  the trafford centre spokeswoman said about 8 500 thousand vehicles had arrived at the centre on saturday before 1130 gmt.  we predict that the next week will continue the same trend   she added.  it was a similar story at bluewater in kent. spokesman alan jones said he expected 150 000 shoppers to have visited by the end of saturday and a further 100 000 on sunday.  our sales so far have been 2% up on the same time last year   he said.  we re very busy  it s really strong and people will be shopping right up until christmas.  over the christmas period we re expecting people to spend in excess of £200m at the centre.   on saturday afternoon  a spokeswoman for the st david s shopping centre in cardiff said it looked like being its busiest day of the year with about 200 000 shoppers expected to have visited by the close of play. at the st enoch s shopping centre in glasgow  more than 140 000 shoppers - an all-time record - were expected to have passed through the doors by its closing time of 1900 gmt. senior business manager jon walton said:  it has been phenomenal - absolutely mobbed.  every week footfall has been showing strong growth and at the weekends it has been going mad.  regent street association director annie walker said on saturday:  the stores were heaving today and a lot of people are going to be doing last minute shopping as many people finished work on friday and can go in the week.   she said reports of a slump in pre-christmas sales were related to the growing popularity of internet sales.  i do think this has had a lot to do with reports of lower sales figures   she said.  internet shopping has gone up enormously and not all stores have websites.


microsoft gets the blogging bug software giant microsoft is taking the plunge into the world of blogging.  it is launching a test service to allow people to publish blogs  or online journals  called msn spaces. microsoft is trailing behind competitors like google and aol  which already offer services which make it easy for people to set up web journals. blogs  short for web logs  have become a popular way for people to talk about their lives and express opinions online.  msn spaces is free to anyone with a hotmail or msn messenger account. people will be able to choose a layout for the page  upload images and share photo albums and music playlists. the service will be supported by banner ads.  this is a simple tool for people to express themselves   said msn s blake irving. this is microsoft s first foray into blogging  which has taken off as a web phenomenon in the past year. competitors like google already offer free services through its blogger site  while aol provides its members with journals. accurate figures for the number of blogs in existence are hard to come by. according to blog analysis firm technorati  the so-called blogosphere  has doubled every five and a half months for the last 18 months. it now estimates that the number of blogs in existence has exceeded 4.8 million  although some speculate that less than a quarter are regularly maintained.


hantuchova in dubai last eight daniela hantuchova moved into the quarter-finals of the dubai open  after beating elene likhotseva of russia 7-5 6-4  and now faces serena williams.  australian open champion williams survived an early scare to beat russia s elena bovina 1-6 6-1 6-4. world number one lindsay davenport and anastasia myskina also progressed. davenport defeated china s jie zheng 6-2 7-5  while french open champion myskina sailed through after her opponent marion bartoli retired hurt. american davenport will now face fellow former wimbledon champion  conchita martinez of spain  who ousted seventh-seeded nathalie dechy of france 6-1 6-2. myskina will face eighth-seed patty schnyder from switzerland  who defeated china s li na 6-3 7-6 (10-8). the other quarter final pits wild card sania mirza of india against jelena jankovic of serbia and montenegro  who both won on tuesday.  before her meeting with martinez  davenport believes there is some room for improvement in her game.  i started well and finished well  but played some so-so games in the middle   she said. williams was also far from content.  i don t know what i was doing there   she said.  it was really windy and i hadn t played in the wind. all my shots were going out of here.  but hantuchova is in upbeat mood ahead of her clash with the younger williams sister  who was handed a first-round bye.  i feel i have an advantage (over serena) because i have already played two matches on these courts   she said.  it is a difficult court to play on. very fast and sometimes you feel you have no control over the ball.


lomu relishing return to action former all black star jonah lomu says he cannot wait to run out on the pitch for former england rugby union captain martin johnson s testimonial on 4 june.  the 29-year-old had a kidney transplant in july 2004 but will play his first full match for three years  leading a southern hemisphere side at twickenham.  i actually started training three weeks after my operation but i was very limited until a few months ago.  now it s basically bring it on!  said the giant winger.  the match on 4 june will be my first 15-man game but i have a training schedule which is quite testing and combines with sevens and a whole lot of things   said lomu.  i have got so much energy since my operation that i train three times a day  six days a week.   mohammed ali has always been my ideal. coming back to rugby  people said  you are dreaming  but it always starts off with a dream.  it s up to you whether you want to make it a reality.  opinion has been divided on whether lomu should attempt to return to the game after such a major operation. but when lomu was asked whether he was taking a risk he replied:  as much as someone going down the road being hit by a bus.  there are a lot of people in the world with one kidney who just don t know it.  i have talked this over  had a chat with the donor and this is to set my soul at peace and finish something i started in 1994 [when he made his all blacks debut].  at his lowest ebb lomu was so ill he could barely walk  but he says he is now getting stronger every day and his long-term target is to play for new zealand again.  the only person who saw me at my worst was my wife   he added.  i used to take two steps and fall over but now i can run and it is all coming back  and a lot more quickly than i ever thought it would.  to play for the all blacks would be the highest honour i could get. that is the long-term goal and you have to start somewhere.


progress on new internet domains by early 2005 the net could have two new domain names.  the .post and .travel net domains have been given preliminary approval by the net s administrative body. the names are just two of a total of 10 proposed domains that are being considered by the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers  icann. the other proposed names include a domain for pornography  asia  mobile phones  an anti-spam domain and one for the catalan language and culture.  the .post domain is backed by the universal postal union that wants to use it as the online marker for every type of postal service and to help co-ordinate the e-commerce efforts of national post offices.  the .travel domain would be used by hotels  travel firms  airlines  tourism offices and would help such organisations distinguish themselves online. it is backed by a new york-based trade group called the travel partnership. icann said its early decision on the two domains was in response to the detailed technical and commercial information the organisations behind the names had submitted. despite this initial approval  icann cautioned that there was no guarantee that the domains would actually go into service. at the same time icann is considering proposals for another eight domains. one that may not win approval is a proposal to set up a .xxx domain for pornographic websites. a similar proposal has been made many times in the past. but icann has been reluctant to approve it because of the difficulty of making pornographers sign up and use it. in 2000 icann approved seven other new domains that have had varying degrees of success. three of the new so-called top level domains were for specific industries or organisations such as .museum and .aero. others such as .info and .biz were intended to be more generic. in total there are in excess of 200 domain names and the majority of these are for nations. but domains that end in the .com suffix are by far the most numerous.


smartphones suffer skulls attack owners of some nokia smartphones are being warned to watch out for malicious wallpaper.  those downloading the software could find all the icons on their 7610 phone swapped for images of skulls. when installed the malicious program also locks many of the 7610 s functions making it hard to use and harder to repair. the program is only the latest in a series of viruses produced to attack mobile phones.  the file  nicknamed skulls  is thought to have surfaced on shareware sites where people can pick up free add-ons  such as wallpaper  games and ringtones  for their phones symbian said that it was not sure if the damage skulls does was intentional or simply a result of bad programming. soon after being discovered the file is thought to have been removed from the sites that were unwittingly harbouring it. the program is masquerading as software that creates new background images and themes for the main screen of the 7610 phone. the skulls program is labelled as a file called: 7610.extended.theme.manager.zip.  once installed the program replaces all the icons on the main page with skulls and replaces all the working applications  such as contacts  calendar  notebook etc with non-working versions so the phone becomes almost useless. the only thing the phone can do is make and take calls. a statement by symbian played down the significance of the malicious program and said few people would fall victim to it as users have to go through several steps to install it  one of which includes ignoring a security warning. symbian said that the spread of the skulls program was likely to be limited as the program cannot travel from one phone to another by itself. despite this finnish anti-virus lab f-secure said it had sporadic reports of 7610 owners being caught out by it. the firm has produced guidance for users caught out to help them remove the program and get their phone working again. the skulls program is thought to have been written by a malicious hacker using the alias tee-222. symbian phones produced by sony ericsson  motorola  benq  arima and fujitsu are unaffected by the skulls program.


winter freeze keeps oil above $50 oil prices carried on rising on wednesday after cold weather on both sides of the north atlantic pushed us crude prices to four-month highs.  freezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls took crude oil prices past $50 a barrel on tuesday for the first time since november. declines in the dollar have also contributed to the rising oil price. us crude was trading at $51.39 at 0710 gmt in asian electronic trade on wednesday. a barrel of us crude oil closed up $2.80 at $51.15 in new york on tuesday. opec members said on tuesday that  given such high prices  the cartel saw no reason to cut its output.  although below last year s peak of $55.67 a barrel  which was reached in october  prices are now well above 2004 s average of $41.48. brent crude also rose in london trading  adding $1.89 to $48.62 at the close.  much of western europe and the north east of america has been shivering under unseasonably low temperatures in recent days. the decline in the us dollar to a five-week low against the euro has also served to inflate prices.  the primary factor is the weak dollar   said victor shum  a singapore-based analyst with purvin and gertz. expectations that a rebound in the dollar would halt the oil price rise were not immediately borne out on wednesday morning  as oil prices carried on upwards as the dollar strengthened against the euro  the pound and the yen.  several opec members said on tuesday that a cut in production was unlikely  citing rising prices and strong demand for oil from asia.  i agree that we do not need to cut supply if the prices are as much as this   fathi bin shatwan  libya s oil minister  told reuters.  i do not think we need to cut unless the prices are falling below $35 a barrel   he added.