software watching while you work software that can not only monitor every keystroke and action performed at a pc but also be used as legally binding evidence of wrong-doing has been unveiled.  worries about cyber-crime and sabotage have prompted many employers to consider monitoring employees. the developers behind the system claim it is a break-through in the way data is monitored and stored. but privacy advocates are concerned by the invasive nature of such software.  the system is a joint venture between security firm 3ami and storage specialists bridgehead software. they have joined forces to create a system which can monitor computer activity  store it and retrieve disputed files within minutes. more and more firms are finding themselves in deep water as a result of data misuse. sabotage and data theft are most commonly committed from within an organisation according to the national hi-tech crime unit (nhtcu) a survey conducted on its behalf by nop found evidence that more than 80% of medium and large companies have been victims of some form of cyber-crime. bridgehead software has come up with techniques to prove  to a legal standard  that any stored file on a pc has not been tampered with. ironically the impetus for developing the system came as a result of the freedom of information act  which requires companies to store all data for a certain amount of time.  the storage system has been incorporated into an application developed by security firm 3ami which allows every action on a computer to be logged. potentially it could help employers to follow the trail of stolen files and pinpoint whether they had been emailed to a third party  copied  printed  deleted or saved to cd  floppy disk  memory stick or flash card. other activities the system can monitor include the downloading of pornography  the use of racist or bullying language or the copying of applications for personal use. increasingly organisations that handle sensitive data  such as governments  are using biometric log-ins such as fingerprinting to provide conclusive proof of who was using a particular machine at any given time. privacy advocates are concerned that monitoring at work is not only damaging to employee s privacy but also to the relationship between employers and their staff.  that is not the case   said tim ellsmore  managing director of 3ami.  it is not about replacing dialogue but there are issues that you can talk through but you still need proof   he said.  people need to recognise that you are using a pc as a representative of a company and that employers have a legal requirement to store data   he added.


rochus shocks coria in auckland top seed guillermo coria went out of the heineken open in auckland on thursday with a surprise loss to olivier rochus of belgium.  coria lost the semi-final 6-4 6-4 to rochus  who goes on to face czech jan hernych  a 6-4 7-5 winner over jose acasuso of argentina. fifth seed fernando gonzalez eased past american robby ginepri 6-3 6-4. the chilean will meet sixth seed juan ignacio chela next after the argentine beat potito starace 6-1 7-6 (7-5). rochus made the semi-finals at the australian hardcourt championships in adelaide last week and is naturally delighted with his form.  it s been two unbelievable weeks for me   he said.  today i knew i had nothing to lose. if i beat him great  if i lost  i would be losing to a top-10 player.  coria conceded that rochus  played just too good   and added:  when you give your best out there you can t be too sad.


jones files conte lawsuit marion jones has filed a lawsuit for defamation against balco boss victor conte following his allegations that he gave her performance-enhancing drugs.  the sydney olympic gold medallist says conte damaged her reputation and she is seeking $25m (£13m) in the suit. conte  whose company is at the centre of a doping investigation  made the claims in a us television programme. he and three others were indicted in february by a federal grand jury for a variety of alleged offences. in an email to the associated press on wednesday  conte said:  i stand by everything i said . jones won three gold medals and two bronzes in sydney in 2000. her lawsuit  filed in the us district court in san francisco  said the sprinter had passed a lie detector test and that she  has never taken banned performance-enhancing drugs . conte s statements  the suit added  were  false and malicious . after the abc television program earlier this month  jones  lawyer richard nicholls said:  marion has steadfastly maintained her position throughout: she has never  ever used performance-enhancing drugs.  victor conte is a man facing a 42-count federal indictment  while marion jones is one of america s most decorated female athletes. mr conte s statements have been wildly contradictory.  mr conte chose to make unsubstantiated allegations on television  while marion jones demanded to take and then passed a lie detector examination.   mr conte is simply not credible. we challenge him to submit to the same lie detector procedure that marion jones passed.  the sport s ruling body  the iaaf  is taking a cautious approach to conte s allegations but contacted the us anti-doping agency. communications director nick davies said the iaaf would seek to contact conte  for further information . but davies stressed it would be up to the american authorities to decide whether they will take action against jones in light of conte s television interview and the world governing body would monitor the situation closely.  if it is felt there is case to answer  it would be for its national governing body (usa track and field) to take the appropriate disciplinary action   he added.  the us anti-doping agency has proved itself to be very diligent in its anti-doping war.  and i am sure  like ourselves  they will be watching the television programme with great interest.  jones  who is under investigation for steroid use by the us anti-doping agency  has continually denied ever taking illegal substances since being investigated in the balco scandal  although she praised a zinc supplement conte marketed. jones  who did not win any medals in athens in august  has never failed a drugs test. meanwhile  conte  who has been charged along with three other men of distributing illegal steroids and money laundering  is due to face trial in march.


microsoft takes on desktop search microsoft has entered the desktop search fray  releasing a test version of its tool to find documents  e-mails and other files on a pc hard drive.  the beta program only works on pcs running windows xp or windows 2000. the desktop search market is becoming increasingly crowded with firms touting programs that help people find files. search giant google launched its desktop search tool in october  while yahoo is planning to release similar software in january.   our ambition for search is to provide the ultimate information tool that can find anything you re looking for   said yusuf mehdi  corporate vice president at microsoft s msn internet division. microsoft s program can be used as a toolbar on the windows desktop  the internet explorer browser and within the outlook e-mail program. the software giant is coming late to the desktop search arena  competing with a large number of rivals. google has already released a desktop tool. yahoo is planning to get into the game in january and aol is expected to offer desktop searching early next year. small firms such as blinkx  copernic  enfish x1 technologies and x-friend offer tools that catalogue the huge amounts of information that people increasingly store on their desktop or home computer. apple will release a similar search system for its computers called spotlight that is due to be released with the tiger operating system.


gta sequel is criminally good the grand theft auto series of games have set themselves the very highest of standards in recent years  but the newest addition is more than able to live up to an increasingly grand tradition.  the 18 certificate gta: san andreas for the playstation 2 could have got away with merely revisiting a best-selling formula with a more-of-the-same approach. instead  it builds and expands almost immeasurably upon the last two games and stomps  carefree  over all the driv3r and true crime-shaped opposition. even in the year that will see sequels to halo and half-life  it is hard to envisage anything topping this barnstorming instant classic.  the basic gameplay remains familiar. you control a character  on this occasion a youth named cj  who sets out on a series of self-contained missions within a massive 3d environment. cj can commandeer any vehicle he stumbles across from a push-bike to a city bus to a plane. all come in handy as he seeks to establish his presence in a tough urban environment and avenge the dreadful deeds waged upon his family. to make things worse  he is framed for murder the moment he arrives in town  and blackmailed by crooked cops played by samuel l jackson and chris penn. the setting for all this rampant criminality is the fictional us state of san andreas  comprising three major cities: los santos  which is a thinly-disguised los angeles  san fierro  aka san francisco and las venturas  a carbon copy of las vegas. san andreas sucks you in with its sprawling range  cast of characters and incredibly sharp writing.  its ability to capture the ambience of the real-world versions of these cities is something to behold  assisted no end by the monumental graphical advances since vice city. the streets  and vast swathes of countryside  are by turns gloriously menacing  grungy and preppy. flaunting awesome levels of graphical detail  the game s overall look  particularly during the many unusual weather conditions and dramatic sunsets  is stupendous. the outstanding bread-and-butter gameplay mechanics provide a solid grounding for the elaborate plot to hang on. cars handle more convincingly than ever  a superb motion blur kicks in when you hit high speeds  and there s more traffic to navigate than before. park your vehicle across the lanes of a freeway  and within seconds there will be a huge pile-up. pedestrians are also out in force  and are a loquacious bunch. cj can interact with them using a simple system on the control pad. they will pass comments on his appearance and credibility  aspects that the player now has control over. clothes  tattoos and haircuts can all be purchased  and funding these habits can be achieved by criminal means or by indulging in mini-games like betting on horses and challenging bar patrons to games of pool. the character will put on or lose weight according to how long he spends on foot or in the gym. he will have to pause regularly in restaurants to keep energy levels up  but will swell up as a result of over-eating. and at last  this is a gta hero who can swim.  at a time when games are once again under fire for their supposed potential to corrupt the young  san andreas  violence  or specifically the freedom it gives the player to commit violence  are sure to inflame the pro-censorship brigade. developers rockstar have not shied away from brutality  and in some respects ramp it up from past outings.  when hijacking a car  for example  cj will gratuitously shove the driver s head into the steering wheel rather than just fleeing with the vehicle. indeed  the tone is darker than the jokey vice city. the grim subject matter here hardly lends itself to gags in quite the same way as the cheesy 80s setting of the last game. this title  incidentally  is set in 1992  but that is really neither here nor there apart from the influence it has on the radio playlists. the wit is still present  just more restrained than in previous outings. a further reason for this is that the incredible range of in-vehicle radio stations available means you will spend less time happening upon the hilarious talk radio options  where gta games  trademark humour is anchored. the quality of voice acting and motion capture is simply off-the-chart. the game s rather odious gangland lowlifes swagger and mouth off in a way that rings very true indeed. it is a testament to san andreas  magnificence that it has a number of prominent flaws  but plus-points are so numerous that the niggles don t detract. the on-screen map  for instance  is needlessly fiddly  an unwelcome change from past editions. there is also a very jarring slowdown at action-packed moments. and the game suffers from the age-old problem that can be relied upon to blight all games of this genre  setting you back a vast distance when you fail right at the very end of a long mission. but the gameplay experience in its entirety is overwhelmingly positive. you simply will not be bothered by these minor failings. san andreas is among the few unmissable games of 2004.


isinbayeva claims new world best pole vaulter yelena isinbayeva broke her own indoor world record by clearing 4.89 metres in lievin on saturday.  it was the russian s 12th world record of her career and came just a few days after she cleared 4.88m at the norwich union grand prix in birmingham. the olympic champion went on to attempt 5.05m at the meeting on france but failed to clear that height. in the men s 60m  former olympic 100m champion maurice greene could only finish second to leonard scott. it was greene s second consecutive defeat at the hands of his fellow american  who also won in birmingham last week.  i ran my race perfectly   said scott  who won in 6.46secs  his best time indoors.  i am happy even if i know that maurice is a long way from being at his peak at the start of the season.


mcclaren hails boro s uefa spirit middlesbrough boss steve mcclaren has praised the way his side have got to grips with european football after the 2-0 uefa cup win against lazio.  boro  who are playing in europe for the first time in their 128-year history  are top of group e with maximum points.  i think we have taken to europe really well   said mcclaren.  we got about lazio  didn t let them settle or play. and in possession  we controlled it and looked threatening every time we went forward.  before the match  mcclaren had said that a win over the italian giants would put boro firmly on the european footballing map. and after they did just that he said:  it was a perfect european night. for the team to give the fans a performance like that was the icing on the cake.  there have been many good performances but this was something special.   you can see that the experience we have in the squad is showing. to win in europe you need to defend well  and we have done that because we have conceded only one goal in four games.  we can also score goals  and again that is something you can see from the performances we have had  so we have good balance. mcclaren s only criticism of his side was that their dominance should have been resulted in more goals.  it should have been more convincing   said mcclaren.  but i had watched lazio in recent weeks and i saw them score a late equaliser against inter milan on saturday so i knew we needed a second goal.   no matter what anybody says  lazio are favourites to win this competition.  middlesbrough forward boudewijn zenden said he did not expect such a comfortable match after he scored both goals.  we didn t expect it to be that one-sided   said zenden.  we did quite well in the first half  we pressured them and they didn t cope with that.  i think we played quite well and it was a very good game  especially in the first half.  the holland international said boro are confident of progressing in the competition after winning their first two group games.  we ve got a very good feeling  there is a good spirit  all the lads work hard for each other and it s a squad of friendly players  which i think you can see on the pitch   he added.


henman to face saulnier test british number one tim henman will face france s cyril saulnier in the first round of next week s australian open.  greg rusedski  the british number two  is in the same quarter of the draw and could face andy roddick in the second round if he beats swede jonas bjorkman. local favourite lleyton hewitt will meet france s arnaud clement  while defending champion and world number one roger federer faces fabrice santoro. women s top seed lindsay davenport drew spanish veteran conchita martinez.  henman came from two sets down to defeat saulnier in the first round of the french open last year  so he knows he faces a tough test in melbourne. the seventh seed  who has never gone beyond the quarter-finals in the year s first major and is lined up to meet roddick in the last eight  is looking forward to the match.  he s tough player on any surface  he s got a lot of ability   he said.  we had a really tight one in paris that went my way so i m going to need to play well from the outset because he s a dangerous competitor.  switzerland s federer  seeded one  is the hot favourite having won three of the four grand slam titles in 2004. he has beaten santoro in five of their seven previous encounters  but is taking nothing for granted.  it s a tricky match   federer said.  i played him at the us open and won quite comfortably then. but you never know  if the rhythm is a bit off  he can keep you guessing and make it difficult.  the most important thing  though  is to get used to playing five-set matches and winning them.  the 23-year-old could meet four-time champion andre agassi in the quarter-finals before meeting russian marat safin  the player he beat in last year s final.  eighth-seeded american agassi is set to play a qualifier in round one if he can shake off a hip injury which ruled him out of the kooyong classic. second seed andy roddick will open his campaign against irakli labadze of georgia. the american could meet rusedski in the second round  seventh seed henman in the quarter-finals and hewitt in the last four. hewitt is hoping to become the first australian man to win the event since mark edmondson in 1976. the 23-year-old has never been beyond round four in eight attempts at melbourne park but has at least secured the opposite half of the draw to federer  who beat him in the australian open  wimbledon and us open last year. safin  seeded four  opens his campaign against a qualifier with 16th seed tommy haas  the player he beat in the semi-finals in 2002  a possible fourth-round opponent.  in the women s draw  davenport could encounter eighth-seeded venus williams in the quarter-finals and third-ranked anastasia myskina  the french open champion  in the semi-finals. bronchitis ruled davenport  the 2000 australian open champion  out of her sydney quarter-final on thursday. venus williams  who lost to younger sister serena in the melbourne final two years ago  opens against eleni daniilidou of greece. serena williams  who won her fourth consecutive grand slam at the 2003 australian open  was drawn in the bottom quarter with second seed amelie mauresmo  a runner-up in 1999. serena will open against another frenchwoman camille pin  while mauresmo plays australia s samantha stosur. wimbledon champion maria sharapova  seeded fourth  drew a qualifier in the first round but could meet fellow russian svetlana kuznetsova  the us open winner  in the last eight  1 roger federer (switzerland)  2 andy roddick (us)  3 lleyton hewitt (australia)  4 marat safin (russia)  5 carlos moya (spain)  6 guillermo coria (argentina)  7 tim henman (britain)  8 andre agassi (us)  9 david nalbandian (argentina)  10 gaston gaudio (argentina)  11 joachim johansson (sweden)  12 guillermo canas (argentina)  13 tommy robredo (spain)  14 sebastien grosjean (france)  15 mikhail youzhny (russia)  16 tommy haas (germany)  17 andrei pavel (romania)  18 nicolas massu (chile)  19 vincent spadea (us)  20 dominik hrbaty (slovakia)  21 nicolas kiefer (germany)  22 ivan ljubicic (croatia)  23 fernando gonzalez (chile)  24 feliciano lopez (spain)  25 juan ignacio chela (argentina)  26 nikolay davydenko (russia)  27 paradorn srichaphan (thailand)  28 mario ancic (croatia)  29 taylor dent (us)  30 thomas johansson (sweden)  31 juan carlos ferrero (spain)  32 jurgen melzer (austria)  1 lindsay davenport (us)  2 amelie mauresmo (france)  3 anastasia myskina (russia)  4 maria sharapova (russia)  5 svetlana kuznetsova (russia)  6 elena dementieva (russia)  7 serena williams (us)  8 venus williams (us)  9 vera zvonareva (russia)  10 alicia molik (australia)  11 nadia petrova (russia)  12 patty schnyder (switzerland)  13 karolina sprem (croatia)  14 francesca schiavone (italy)  15 silvia farina elia (italy)  16 ai sugiyama (japan)  17 fabiola zuluaga (colombia)  18 elena likhovtseva (russia)  19 nathalie dechy (france)  20 tatiana golovin (france)  21 amy frazier (us)  22 magdalena maleeva (bulgaria)  23 jelena jankovic (serbia and montenegro)  24 mary pierce (france)  25 lisa raymond (us)  26 daniela hantuchova (slovakia)  27 anna smashnova (israel)  28 shinobu asagoe (japan)  29 gisela dulko (argentina)  30 flavia pennetta (italy)  31 jelena kostanic (croatia)  32 iveta benesova (czech republic)


disappointed scott in solid start allan scott is confident of winning a medal at next week s european indoor championships after a solid debut on the international circuit.  the 22-year-old scot finished fourth in the 60m hurdles at the jose m cagigal memorial meeting in madrid.  it was definitely a learning curve and i certainly haven t ruled out challenging for a medal next week   said the east kilbride athlete. the race was won by felipe vivancos  who equalled the spanish record.  sweden s robert kronberg was second  with haiti s dudley dorival in third. scott was slightly disappointed with his run in the final. he won his heat in 7.64secs but ran 0.04secs slower in his first iaaf indoor grand prix circuit final.  i should have done better than that   he said.  i felt i could have won it. i got a poor start - but i still felt i should have ran faster.  vivancos slashed his personal best to equal the spanish record with a time of 7.60secs while kronberg and dorival clocked 7.62secs and 7.63secs respectively.


piero gives rugby perspective bbc sport unveils its new analysis tool piero at the wales v england rugby union match on saturday. but what does it do and how does it work   picture the scene - wales are camped on the england line in the dying seconds of the six nations  opening match. a ball is flung out to winger shane williams who crosses to score the winning try for wales. but the england players are incensed - arguing that the pass was forward and the try should not stand. in the past  sports fans would be left debating the validity of the try for days and weeks to come. but bbc sport s new tool piero could end discussions in minutes.  piero  named after the italian painter and pioneer of perspective piero della francesco  creates a virtual stadium in which virtual players can be tracked from almost any angle. viewers will be able to see precisely how the ball was thrown and by whom  giving a greater depth to the growing wealth of analysis available during sports broadcasts. the technology has been created by bbc research and development for bbc broadcast and bbc outside broadcasts. bbc sport is the first client to start using the system.  in order to keep audiences growing and growing... we need to work closely with people who create technology and innovation to bring sport to life   said andrew thompson  the bbc s head of development  new media and sports news.  we want to appeal to core fans - to give them more analysis  more detail  more definitive answers about key passages of play.  piero works by taking telemetric data from fixed camera positions and sending that data inside the video signal to a pc which can then render the information into 3d graphics.  the more cameras using piero  the better the detail possible out the other end when the data is turned into 3d models.  it allows us to tell the story of a passage of play  tracking individual players across the field  looking at tactics   said andy townsend  from bbc broadcast.  an operator can manipulate the information and provide almost real-time replays of incidents  as well as more in-depth analysis. the  virtual camera  can focus on virtually any aspect of the pitch  giving viewers an insight into action that the camera normally cannot see. piero also provides a wealth of statistical detail - from the length of kicks  to the length of a run of an individual player and the height of a lift at any lineout. mr townsend said sports performance companies were already showing an interest in the technology. bbc broadcast hopes the technology can be sold to third parties interested in using it a number of different ways - from sport broadcasting to entertainment and game shows.


georgia plans hidden asset pardon georgia is offering a one-off  tax amnesty  to people who hid their earnings under the regime of former president eduard shevardnadze.  the country s new president  mikhail saakashvili  has said that anyone now willing to disclose their wealth will only have to pay 1% in income tax. the measure is designed to legitimise previously hidden economic activity and boost georgia s flagging economy. georgia s black market is estimated to be twice the size of its legal economy.  mr saakashvili  elected president in january after mr shevardnadze was toppled  has urged the georgian parliament to approve the amnesty as soon as possible. it is one of a series of proposals designed to tackle corruption  which was rampant during the shevardnadze era  and boost georgia s fragile public finances.  the new government is encouraging companies to pay taxes by scrapping existing corruption investigations and destroying all tax records from before 1 january  three days before president saakashvili was elected.  there are people who have money but are afraid to show it   the president told a government session.  documentation about where this money came from doesn t exist because under the former  entirely warped regime  earning capital honestly was not possible.   by declaring their assets and paying the one-off tax  people would be able to  legalise their property   mr saakashvili stressed.   no one will have the right to check this money s origin. this money must go back into the economy.  the amnesty will not extend to people who made money through drugs trafficking or international money laundering. criminal investigations in such cases -thought to involve about 5% of georgian businesses -are to continue. mr saakashvili has accused the shevardnadze regime  which was toppled by a popular uprising in november  of allowing bribery to flourish. georgia s economy is in a desperate condition. half the population are living below the poverty line with many surviving on income of less than $4  or three euros  a day. the unemployment rate is around 20% while the country has a $1.7bn public debt.


rusedski forced out in marseille greg rusedski was forced to withdraw from the open 13 in marseille on thursday with a rib injury.  the british number two had been scheduled to play qualifier sebastien de chaunac  who beat world number five guillermo coria 6-4 7-5 in round one. but rusedski was unable to take to the court because of a problem with the left-hand side of his rib-cage. american taylor dent caused a shock with a 7-6 6-2 victory over second seed david nalbandian. but third seed joachim johansson made it through after beating frenchman gilles simon 7-6 6-3 while in the first match of the day  sixth seed feliciano lopez defeated ivo karlovic. there were also wins for slovakia s karol beck and croatian duo ivan ljubicic and mario ancic.


stevens named in england line-up england have named bath prop matt stevens in the starting line-up for their six nations match against ireland at lansdowne road on sunday.  fellow bath prop duncan bell will start on the bench  as coach andy robinson makes just one change to the team that was beaten by france. it will be stevens  first start after two caps as a replacement against the all blacks last year. leicester duo ollie smith and andy goode have been drafted onto the bench. stevens takes over from phil vickery  who suffered a broken arm playing for gloucester last weekend.  i m confident matt will grasp this opportunity and make his mark against ireland   said robinson.   all three players have shown outstanding form of late  most recently in the england a win against france a and for their club   added robinson.  selection beckons when players demonstrate such consistent ability.  this game against ireland will be massive. we recognise it s a must-win game for us this season.  england confirmed that sale sharks prop andrew sheridan was not considered for selection because of an injury he picked up to the back of his ankle during last friday s match against leeds.  j robinson (sale sharks  capt); m cueto (sale sharks)  j noon (newcastle)  o barkley (bath)  j lewsey (wasps); c hodgson (sale sharks)  h ellis (leicester); g rowntree (leicester)  s thompson (northampton)  m stevens (bath)  d grewcock (bath)  b kay (leicester)  j worsley (wasps)  l moody (leicester)  m corry (leicester).  a titterrell (sale sharks)  d bell (bath)  s borthwick (bath)  a hazell (gloucester)  m dawson (wasps)  a goode (leicester)  o smith (leicester).


wales get williams fitness boost wales are hopeful that openside flanker martyn williams could be fit for saturday s rbs 6 nations championship opener against england in cardiff.  williams was expected to miss the match with a disc problem in his neck  but has been making a speedy recovery.  he will have tests in the next 48 hours and we are pretty optimistic he is getting there   wales  team physiotherapist mark davies said.  it has been frustrating but he is on the mend  he has made good progress.  last week williams  along with fellow flanker colin charvis - who is unlikely to play for at least a month while he recovers from a foot injury - was all but ruled out of the millennium stadium clash. with williams initially thought to be struggling  the signs pointed towards wales coach mike ruddock handing a first cap to former wales under-21 skipper richie pugh.  cardiff blues flanker williams  29  offers considerable experience and if he is declared fit then ruddock might be tempted to include him in the back row. charvis will be reviewed by the wales medical staff next monday  but davies admitted that there was only an  outside chance  of him being fit to face france in wales  third championship game on 26 february. wales  other injury concern is pugh s fellow neath-swansea ospreys player sonny parker  as the centre has a trapped nerve in his neck.  sonny s injury is still an issue   davies said.  it is still painful and irritable. we will run the rule of thumb over him in the next couple of days.  ruddock will name his starting line-up for the england game at 1830 gmt on tuesday evening  as wales target their first victory in cardiff over the world champions since 1993.


weir poised for sunderland move larne s teenage star robbie weir is poised to join sunderland after turning down a move to stoke city.  the 17-year-old irish league midfielder was also being chased by rangers and fulham  but mick mccarthy s side appear to have won the race. but larne boss jimmy mcgeough has yet to confirm that weir is on his way from inver park.  i heard on sunday that he has joined sunderland  but not from the lad himself   he said.   robbie has an agreement with larne that he can negotiate with interested clubs.    personally  i would rather see him making an impact at local level to build up his physique before moving into the full-time game.   he has been on trial with a number of clubs. but it would be great to see him making it at sunderland.


us data sparks inflation worries wholesale prices in the us rose at the fastest rate in more than six years in january  according to government data.  new figures show the labor department producer price index (ppi) rose by 0.3% - in line with forecasts. but core producer prices  which exclude food and energy costs  surged by 0.8%  the biggest rise since december 1998  increasing inflationary concerns. in contrast  the university of michigan barometer of us retail consumer confidence showed a slight dip. the university s index of consumer spending fell to 94.2 in early february from 95.5 in january  which could indicate a fall in retail spending by the us public. the mixed set of data on friday led to volatile early wall street trade  as the dow jones  standard and poor s 500  and nasdaq swung between positive and negative territory.  the economic figures come on the back of increased fears that the federal reserve chairman may be about to raise interest rates in order to stifle any inflationary pressures. the fed has been raising interest rates at a gradual pace since june 2004  in an attempt to make sure inflation does not get out of control.  mr greenspan told congress this week that the central bank was on guard against the possibility that a rebounding economy could trigger stronger inflation pressures.  the ppi would argue for greenspan to continue to raise rates at a measured pace   said joe quinlan  chief market stategist at bank of america capital management.  but this michigan survey tells you that the consumer might be downshifting a little bit in terms of their confidence and their spending; this could be an indication of that.   consumer spending accounts for 66% of us economic activity and is viewed as a gauge of the health of the economy  which is why the michigan data is closely observed. however on friday  it was overshadowed by the core ppi core figure  which surged 2.7% during the past 12 months  the biggest year-on-year gain in nine years.  the concern is that traders might interpret this big jump in the core ppi as an impetus for the fed to be more aggressive than a measured move in moving rates   said paul cherney  chief market analyst at standard & poor s. but ian shepherdson  chief us economist at high frequency economics  said the ppi report was  much less alarming  than at first glance. one-time increases in alcohol and tobacco prices  which  are no indication of broad ppi pressure   were responsible for the increase  he said. prices for autos and trucks also jumped in january  but shepherdson said  it is a good bet these increases won t stick .


radcliffe tackles marathon tasks paula radcliffe faces arguably the biggest test of her career in the new york city marathon on sunday.  back under the spotlight of public scrutiny she will attempt to erase the double disappointment of the athens olympics  where she failed to finish the marathon and then the 10 000m. bbc sport examines the challenges facing radcliffe ahead of the big race.   the ability to run a gruelling 26.2 miles relies largely upon an athlete s belief that they can do it. every runner will hit the wall at some stage and see written on it   are you strong enough to finish    the question could hit radcliffe hard after she was unable to complete her last two races in high-profile and emotional circumstances. sports psychologist hugh richards says the 30-year-old must draw on her past achievements to conquer a potential crisis of confidence.  there is an old adage   get straight back on the horse that threw you    richards told bbc sport.  paula has got all those great runs in her history as well as the two upsets in athens.  she must not lose faith in what has already been proven is a very effective strategy for distance running.  if she were to change her preparation and tactics that would be madness.  she wants to start rebuilding her confidence through performance accomplishment.    for much of the watching media and public there can only be two possible outcomes in new york - win or lose. if radcliffe crosses the line first she will have proved her critics wrong. but if she fails to triumph  she risks being labelled a has-been and her profile will suffer. and for any athlete that can have repercussions in terms of sponsorship  appearance fees as well as further self esteem issues.   athletes need to try and stay focused on their internal controls and ignore external questions   explains richards  who has worked with past olympians.  she must not get caught up in someone else s agenda.  radcliffe s best friend and fellow distance runner liz yelling revealed the 30-year-old is already aware she will be exposing herself to more public scrutiny in new york.  she just thought   well  they can t think any worse of me now    yelling told bbc sport.  she s just doing what she wants to do and not thinking about the consequences of it.    radcliffe described her decision to enter the new york marathon as  impulsive  but she is certain to have a tick-list of personal goals. her aims could be as simple as completing a race and making sure she is still enjoying running but richards says she must avoid more emotional targets  such as redemption.  you can t change history   warned richards.  only one person can win the marathon but lots of people can be successful.  paula has to figure out what sort of things will she feel satisfied achieving by the end of the race.    the course from staten island to central park is renowned as one of the toughest in the world. it is also not the kind of fast course that tends to suit radcliffe better  with the undulating finish through the park testing the legs  final reserves.  radcliffe has never raced there before and will enter the unknown just 77 days after the athens marathon.  it s suggested after a major marathon you take a full month off and start building up again   said yelling  herself a marathon runner.  but that is only for long-term health and fitness.  when you finish a marathon you are still very fit and can recover quickly. so physically it is possible for paula.  richards also points out conditions in new york will be more conducive to a strong physical display from radcliffe.  the heat stress was the primary factor that tripped her up in athens   he said.  and that just isn t going to be there in new york  that s been taken out of the equation.      radcliffe concedes she will probably learn a lot from her bad experiences in athens in time. and richards and yelling agree she could turn the trauma to her advantage  starting in new york.  how you respond to adversity is what marks you out as elite or not   argues richards.   one of the challenges of massive set backs is how you turn them into opportunities.  and yelling says:  i think this will probably make paula.   i think it will drive her on and she ll come out of it a better athlete.


big war games battle it out the arrival of new titles in the popular medal of honor and call of duty franchises leaves fans of wartime battle titles spoilt for choice.  the acclaimed pc title call of duty has been updated for console formats  building on many of the original s elements. for its part  the long-running medal of honor series has added pacific assault to its pc catalogue  adapting the console game rising sun. call of duty: finest hour casts you as a succession of allied soldiers fighting on world war 2 battlefronts including russia and north africa. it is a traditional first-person-viewed game that lets you control just one character  in the midst of a unit where cohorts constantly bark orders at you. on a near-identical note  medal of honor: pacific assault does all it can to make you feel part of a tight-knit team and plum in the middle of all-out action. its arenas are the war s pacific battles  including guadalcanal and pearl harbour. you play one character throughout  a raw and rather talkative us soldier.  both games rely on a carefully stage-managed structure that keeps things ticking along. when this works  it is a brilliant device to make you feel part of a story. when it does not  it is tedious.  a winning moment is an early scene in pacific assault  where you come under attack at the famous us base in hawaii. you are first ushered into a gunboat attacking the incoming waves of japanese planes  then made to descend into a sinking battleship to rescue crewman  before seizing the anti-aircraft guns. it is one of the finest set-pieces ever seen in a video game. this notion of shuffling the player along a studiously pre-determined path  forcibly witnessing a series of pre-set moments of action  is a perilous business which can make the whole affair feel stilted rather than organic. the genius of something like half life 2 is that it skilfully disguises its linear plotting by various means of misdirection. this pair of games do not really accomplish that  being more concerned with imparting a full-on atmospheric experience.  call of duty comes with a suitably bombastic score and overblown presentation. finest hour has a similar determination  framing everything in moody wartime music  archive footage and lots of reflective voice-overs.  letting you play a number of different roles is an interesting ploy that adds new dimensions to the call of duty endeavour  even if it sacrifices the narrative flow somewhat. the game s drawback could be said to be its format; tastes differ  but these wartime shooters often do seem to work better on pc. the mouse control is a big reason why  along with the sharper graphics a top-end computer can muster and the apparent notion that pc games are allowed to get away with a bit more subtlety. call of duty on pc was more detailed  plot-wise and graphically  and this new adaptation feels a little rough and ready. targeting with the ps2 controller proved tricky  not helped by unconvincing collision-detection. you can shoot an enemy repeatedly with zero question as to your aim  yet the bullets will just refuse to hit him. checkpoints are so few and far between that when you get shot  which happens regularly  you are set harshly far back  and will find yourself covering vast tracts of scorched earth again and again. the game wants to be a challenge  and is  and many players will like it for that. it is as dynamic a battlefield simulator as you will experience and even if it is not as refined as its pc parent  the sense of being part of the action is thoroughly impressive.  both of these games feature military colleagues who are disturbingly bad shots and prone to odd behaviour. and in pacific assault in particular  their commands and comments are irritatingly meaningless.  but the teamwork element in titles like this is superficial  designed to add atmosphere and camaraderie rather than affect the gameplay mechanics at all. of the two games  pacific assault gets more things right  including little points like auto-saving intelligently and having tidier presentation. it engages you very well and also looks wonderful  making the most of the lush tropical settings that are reminiscent of the glorious far cry  although we had to ramp up the settings on a high-spec machine to get the most out of them. finest hour is by no means bad  and it is only because the pc original was so dazzling that this version sometimes feels underwhelming. those looking for a wartime game with plenty of atmosphere and a hearty abundance of enemies to shoot will be contented. but they will also have a niggling puzzlement as to why it does not break a little more ground rather then just being competent.


benitez  to launch morientes bid  liverpool may launch an £8m january bid for long-time target fernando morientes  according to reports.  the real madrid striker has been linked with a move to anfield since the summer and is currently behind raul  ronaldo and michael owen at the bernabeu. liverpool boss rafael benitez is keen to bolster his forward options with djibril cisse out until next season.  if there is an attractive propostition it could be i would be keen to leave   admitted the 28-year-old morientes. he added:  unfortunately  i m not in control of the situation. i m under contract to real and they will make any decisions.  the fee could put liverpool off a prospective deal but real are keen to net the cash as they are reported to be preparing a massive summer bid for inter milan striker adriano. the reds are currently sixth in the premiership  15 points behind leaders chelsea.


souness eyes summer move for owen newcastle boss graeme souness is lining up a summer move for england and real madrid striker michael owen.  he sees owen as the ideal replacement for alan shearer  who is due to retire in the summer  although he hopes to persuade shearer to carry on.  michael is in the category of players who would excite the fans and we re monitoring him   he told bbc newcastle.  he is a great centre-forward and only 25 but i don t think we re the only ones monitoring the situation at real.  souness has also hinted he thinks shearer may carry on despite his stated intent to retire at the end of the season. he believes the prospect of breaking jackie milburn s club scoring record may influence the striker s decision.  milburn scored 200 league and cup goals between 1946 and 1957  while shearer currently has 187 goals to his name.  without giving too much away  i am confident he will be here next season   said souness.  i can t imagine him leaving without breaking jackie milburn s scoring record.  souness also revealed he tried to bring back nolberto solano during the january transfer window. the peruvian international was sold to aston villa a year ago but in the phone-in for bbc newcastle  souness said tried to re-sign him  but villa were not interested in selling.  the former rangers and liverpool boss is also looking to bring in a number of new acquisitions once the current campaign has been completed.  i m after three  four or five new players in the summer - we have got lots of targets   he said.  don t think we will wait to the last day of the season to say: `who are we going to target now


aragones angered by racism fine spain coach luis aragones is furious after being fined by the spanish football federation for his comments about thierry henry.  the 66-year-old criticised his 3000 euros (£2 060) punishment even though it was far below the maximum penalty.  i am not guilty  nor do i accept being judged for actions against the image of the sport   he said.  i m not a racist and i ve never lacked sporting decorum. i ve never done that and i have medals for sporting merit.  aragones was handed the fine on tuesday after making racist remarks about henry to arsenal team-mate and spanish international jose reyes last october.  the spanish football federation at first declined to take action against aragones  but was then requested to do so by spain s anti-violence commission. the fine was far less than the expected amount of about £22 000 or even the suspension of his coaching licence. arsenal boss arsene wenger  who was fined £15 000 in december for accusing manchester united striker ruud van nistelrooy of cheating  believes that aragones  punishment was too lenient.  you compare his fine and my fine  and if you consider his was for racist abuse  then you seem to get away with it more in spain than you should   wenger said.  he shouldn t have said what he said  and how much money is enough  i don t know but it doesn t look a big punishment.  however  aragones insists the fine is unjustified and unfair.  i have been treated like islero (the bull that killed famous bullfighter manolete)   said aragones on hearing he had been fined for his actions.  i have not liked one thing about this whole affair and i do not agree with the sanction. they have looked for a scapegoat.  spain s anti-violence commission must now ratify the spanish fa s decision and has until next week to announce its verdict. aragones has 10 days to appeal  and the commission can also appeal. alberto flores  president of the spanish fa s disciplinary committee  said no-one in the committee felt aragones was a racist nor had  acted in a racist way.   a fine  the highest we could apply  is sufficient punishment. suspension would have been a bit exaggerated   flores told sports daily marca.


worldcom ex-boss launches defence lawyers defending former worldcom chief bernie ebbers against a battery of fraud charges have called a company whistleblower as their first witness.  cynthia cooper  worldcom s ex-head of internal accounting  alerted directors to irregular accounting practices at the us telecoms giant in 2002. her warnings led to the collapse of the firm following the discovery of an $11bn (£5.7bn) accounting fraud. mr ebbers has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and conspiracy.  prosecution lawyers have argued that mr ebbers orchestrated a series of accounting tricks at worldcom  ordering employees to hide expenses and inflate revenues to meet wall street earnings estimates. but ms cooper  who now runs her own consulting business  told a jury in new york on wednesday that external auditors arthur andersen had approved worldcom s accounting in early 2001 and 2002. she said andersen had given a  green light  to the procedures and practices used by worldcom. mr ebber s lawyers have said he was unaware of the fraud  arguing that auditors did not alert him to any problems.  ms cooper also said that during shareholder meetings mr ebbers often passed over technical questions to the company s finance chief  giving only  brief  answers himself. the prosecution s star witness  former worldcom financial chief scott sullivan  has said that mr ebbers ordered accounting adjustments at the firm  telling him to  hit our books . however  ms cooper said mr sullivan had not mentioned  anything uncomfortable  about worldcom s accounting during a 2001 audit committee meeting. mr ebbers could face a jail sentence of 85 years if convicted of all the charges he is facing. worldcom emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2004  and is now known as mci. last week  mci agreed to a buyout by verizon communications in a deal valued at $6.75bn.


sella wants michalak recall former france centre philippe sella believes coach bernard laporte must recall frederic michalak to give his side any chance of beating ireland.  sella admitted he had been impressed by current fly-half yann delaigue in the rbs six nations to date. but he told bbc sport:  michalak is the answer both now and for the future. delaigue deserved his chance but the time has come to bring back michalak.  he does have weaknesses but has the all-round game to upset ireland.  the 22-year-old michalak has spent much of the tournament on the bench after delaigue impressed for castres early in the season. with michalak overlooked  the french stuttered to narrow wins over scotland and then england before ironically playing their best rugby in the defeat to wales.  the wales game was amazing to watch but never did i think the french could lose that game at half-time   said sella.   their only mistakes were that they didn t score enough points in the first half and were a little bit less focused in the second... but only a little bit.  sella  however  insisted the pressure had eased on the under-fire laporte  despite the defeat at the stade de france.  this season is very important for shaping a team for the 2007 world cup   said sella   which laporte is doing very well. the french get better every game.  it s difficult  though  when you change a team and you change your tactics as everything has to gel.  but he has the players and the talent to take them all the way to world cup victory.  as a result  it is important that people give him time. it may not seem good now that we re not winning the grand slam but no one will care in two years time if we re world champions.   the majority of media criticism centred on the way in which france produced a performance devoid of running rugby in their opening two games. but while sella admitted he liked the more flowing style employed against wales  he said  the win was most important .  winning is all that matters   he added.  ok  the flair may not have been so good  but the discipline  organisation and defence was there  which are all important ahead of 2007.  france play what sella believes is their hardest game of the six nations against ireland in dublin on saturday 12 march. the french go into the game as clear underdogs. but sella added:  people forget that france can still win the six nations and they ll be focused on that.  but ireland will be going for even more in front of their home crowd. it s going to be tough.


jansen suffers a further setback blackburn striker matt jansen faces three weeks out after surgery to treat a cartilage problem.  but central defender lorenzo amoruso is moving closer to fitness following a knee operation. rovers  assistant manager mark bowen said:  matt had a small operation to trim knee cartilage.  it s a tiny piece of work  which should be a fairly quick recovery. lorenzo is also jogging for the first time  along with kicking a ball.  jansen s career has been dogged by injury since a freak scooter accident two years ago.  he returned to first-team action soon after mark hughes  appointment as blackburn boss and marked it with a goal against portsmouth in his first appearance of the season. bowen added:  i m guessing  but i reckon maybe two to three weeks before he is back in action completely.  the rovers assistant boss forecast a longer time spell for amoruso s availability for first-team duties. bowen said:  there s still some scar tissue present so it will be some weeks.  it s a case of see how he goes. you can t put a real time on a comeback  we ll see how he progresses.


holmes back on form in birmingham double olympic champion kelly holmes was back to her best as she comfortably won the 1 000m at the norwich union birmingham indoor grand prix.  the 34-year-old  running only her second competitive race of the season  shook off the rust to win in two minutes  35.39 seconds. but she is still undecided about competing in the european championships in madrid from 4-6 march.  i ll probably be entered and make my mind up at the last minute   she said.  my training hasn t gone as well as expected but i ve got two weeks to decide.  i need to take my time and make sure i feel good about what i m doing.  i felt very good here but with the crowd behind you  you feel like you can do anything.  american  was the eventual winner of the men s 60m race which almost ended in farce. three athletes were disqualified for false starting  including britain s mark lewis-francis  who was the first man guilty of coming out of his blocks too quickly. world 100m champion kim collins clinched second spot ahead of world 60m record holder and scott s training partner maurice greene. jason gardener s unbeaten run came to an end as he came fifth and he will need to improve if he is to defend his european title in madrid.  you can t win them all   said gardener afterwards.  and i was very disappointed as i know i m capable of doing better.  russian  was back on record-breaking form in the pole vault at the national indoor arena.  the olympic champion set a new world mark of 4.88m to break her own record - which she set just six days ago - and beat russian rival svetlana feofanova. it was isinbayeva s 11th world record - indoors or out - since july 2003.  i m so happy and i will do my best to break the 5m barrier soon   the 22-year-old told bbc sport. jamaica s  stormed to a personal best of 7.13 seconds to claim the women s 60m sprint. belgian kim gevaert  who will be one of the favourites for next month s european title  took second while american muna lee was third. there was disappointment for british pair jeanette kwakye and joice maduaka who finished seventh and eighth respectively.  jamaican  stretched her unbeaten record to 25 races as she effortlessly claimed the 200m. the olympic champion set a new indoor personal best of 22.38 seconds - the fastest time in the world this season.  fought off fellow briton tim abeyie to take the men s 200m in a personal best of 20.88.  continued her outstanding start to the season  beating a strong international field  which included two-time olympic 100m hurdles bronze medallist melissa morrison  to claim the women s 60m hurdles. the 25-year-old briton clocked 7.98 seconds while pre-european championships favourite russian irina shevchenko finished down in sixth. ethiopia s  failed in her bid to smash compatriot berhane adere s world 3 000m record but still won the event in emphatic style. the olympic 5 000m champion was inside record pace but dropped off over the final third  finishing in eight minutes  33.05 seconds - the fourth fastest time ever recorded for the event. britain s jo pavey bravely decided to go with defar as she strode away from the field and took second in a season s best 8:41.43. kenyan  also missed out on the indoor 1500m world record  which hicham el guerrouj has held for the last eight years.  lagat settled for silver behind el guerrouj in athens and was almost four seconds short of the moroccan s world best  clocking 3:35.27 in birmingham. and  was still struggling to find his form after the death of his fiancee this year. the olympic 10 000m champion had comfortably led the men s two mile race after his younger brother tariku had set the pace. but fellow ethiopian  appeared ominously on bekele s shoulder with two laps to go before surging past him at the bell to win in 8:14.28. jamaican  made the most of a blistering start to take the men s 400m title in 45.91 seconds. world indoor champion  alleyne francique  faded badly and finished in fourth while american duo jerry harris and james davis took second and third respectively. swede  showed her class in the long jump as she stole top spot from jade johnson with the very last jump of the competition. the olympic heptathlon gold medallist reached 6.66m to better johnson s mark of 6.52m - her second personal best inside a week.  i was quite surprised because i didn t think i d end up with second place   said johnson  who wore london s 2012 olympic bid slogan   back the bid   on her shorts.  but i m pleased and hopefully i ll get a bit better for the europeans. i really want to win a medal.   won the men s event with a season s best of 7.95m  taking the scalp of world indoor champion savante stringfellow of the usa.


trial begins of spain s top banker the trial of emilio botin  the chairman of spain s most powerful bank  santander central hispano  has started in madrid.  mr botin is accused of misusing the bank s funds after he approved the payment of 160m euros ($208m; £111m) in bonus and pension payouts to two former executives. however  the trial was suspended when mr botin s lawyer introduced a new set of documents on the day testimony was set to begin. a three-judge panel gave prosecution lawyers until monday to study the documents  when the trial will be reconvened.  the high-profile case began after two santander shareholders filed a criminal complaint about the payments to jose maria amusategui and angel corcostegui  who stepped down in 2001. both executives helped mr botin orchestrate spain s biggest bank merger  between santander and banco central hispano  in 1999. as he arrived at spain s high court earlier on wednesday  mr botin greeted the waiting media  saying:  i have full faith in justice.  santander s board of governors strongly reject the charges against their chairman  saying the payouts were legal and made with their unanimous support. but if convicted  mr botin could face a prison term of up to six years. mr corcostegui  a former ceo at santander  also asked the court for new evidence to be admitted. in spite of the allegations against him  mr botin continues to lead santander  and was instrumental in the £8.5bn takeover last november of the british bank abbey national. since taking over the chairmanship in 1986  he has turned santander into one of the top ten biggest banks in the world.


honour for uk games maker leading british computer games maker peter molyneux has been made an obe in the new year honours list.  the head of surrey s lionhead studios was granted the honour for services to the computer games industry. mr molyneux has been behind many of the ground-breaking games of the last 15 years such as populous  theme park  dungeon keeper and black and white. he is widely credited with helping to create and popularise the so-called god-game genre.  speaking to the bbc news website mr molyneux said receiving the honour was something of a surprise. it s come completely out of the blue   he said   i never would have guessed that i d have that kind of honour.  he said he was surprised as much because  not too long ago  many people thought computer gaming was a fad.   it was thought to be like skateboarding   he said   a craze that everyone thought would go away.  now  he said  the gaming world rivals the movie industry for sales and cultural influence.  britain plays a big part in it   he said.  it s one of the founding nations that made the industry what it is.  mr molyneux has been a pivotal figure in the computer games industry for almost 20 years. his career started at bullfrog studios which in 1987 produced populous one of the first god-games. the title gave players control over the lives a small population of computerised people. mr molyneux said that his involvement with the games industry started almost by accident as back in the early days game making was more a hobby than a career.  i thought everyone would treat populous as weird   he said   but it became a huge international success.  he left bullfrog in 1997 to set up lionhead studios which was behind the ambitous and widely acclaimed game black & white. one of the next titles to come from lionhead puts players in charge of a movie studio and tasks them with producing and directing a hit film. the veteran game maker says he has one problem still to solve.  being an absolute geek i ve got no idea what i m going to wear when i go and pick it up   he said.


gadget market  to grow in 2005  the explosion in consumer technology is to continue into 2005  delegates at the world s largest gadget show  in las vegas  have been told.  the number of gadgets in the shops is predicted to grow by 11%  while devices which talk to each other will become increasingly important.  everything is going digital   kirsten pfeifer from the consumer electronics association  told the bbc news website. the consumer electronics show (ces) featured the pick of 2005 s products.  consumers are controlling what they want and technologies like hdtvs [high-definition tvs]  digital radio  and digital cameras will remain strong in 2005.  all the products on show really showed the breadth and depth of the industry.  despite showing diversity  some delegates attending complained that the showcase lacked as much  wow factor  as in previous years.  the portable technologies on show also reflected one of the buzzwords of ces  which was the  time and place shifting  of multimedia content - being able to watch and listen to video and music anywhere  at any time. at the start of last year s ces  the cea predicted there would be an average growth of 4% in 2004. that figure was surpassed with the rise in popularity of portable digital music players  personal video recorders and digital cameras. it was clear also that gadgets are becoming a lot more about lifestyle choice  with fashion and personalisation becoming increasingly key to the way gadgets are designed. part of this has been the rise in spending power of the  generation x-ers  who have grown up with technology and who now have the spending power and desire for more devices that suit them. more than 57% of the consumer electronics market is made up of female buyers  according to cea research. hybrid devices  which combine a number of multimedia functions  were also in evidence on the show floor.  a lot of this is driven by just the ability to do it   said stephen baker  a consumer electronics analyst with retail research firm npd group.  some of these functions cost next to nothing to add.   as well as the show floor showcasing everything from tiny wearable mp3 players to giant high-definition tvs  several keynote speeches were made by industry leaders  such as microsoft chief bill gates. despite several embarrassing technical glitches during mr gate s pre-show speech  he announced several new partnerships - mainly for the us market. he unveiled new ways of letting people take tv shows recorded on personal video recorders and watch them back on portable devices. he disappointed some  however  by failing to announce any details of the next generation of the xbox games console. another disappointment was the lack of exposure sony s new portable games device  the psp  had at the show. sony said the much-anticipated gadget would most likely start shipping in march for the us and europe. it went on sale in japan before christmas. there were only two psps embedded in glass cabinets at the show though and no representatives to discuss further details. a sony representative told the bbc news website this was because sony did not consider it to be part of their  consumer technology  offering.  elsewhere at the show  there was a plethora of colour and plasma screens  including samsung s 102-inch (2.6 metre) plasma - the largest in the world. industry experts were also excited about high-definition technologies coming to the fore in 2005  with new formats for dvds coming out which will hold six times as much data as conventional dvds. with so many devices on the move there were a lot of products on show offering external storage  like seagate s 5gb pocket sized external hard drive  which won an innovation for engineering and design prize. more than 120 000 trade professionals attended ces in las vegas  which officially ran from 6 to 9 january.


mirza shocks kuznetsova sania mirza continued her remarkable rise with victory over us open champion svetlana kuznetsova at the dubai championships on tuesday.  the 18-year-old indian  who is already a huge star in her home country  won 6-4 6-2 in front of a delirious crowd. it was mirza s sixth straight victory following her first wta tournament win in hyderabad last month. earlier  daniela hantuchova built on her improving form with a 7-6 6-2 win over sixth seed alicia molik. mirza needed attention to an ankle injury after the second game against kuznetsova.  she quickly slipped 4-0 down but staged a dramatic comeback that thrilled the large indian contingent in the crowd.  i really didn t expect that after my ankle turn   said mirza.  i played a great match and i think (the crowd) did it again. i knew that i had to play an all-round game and that s what happened.  i did everything well but i wasn t missing the ball - i don t know how that happened.  mirza plays silvia farina elia or jelena jankovic next. hantuchova has risen from 31 in the world at the turn of the year to number 22  having reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals at her last two events.  it was such a tough first-round match and i am glad to come through   said hantuchova.  she was serving so well. i just decided to hang in there and keep fighting.  the slovakian will meet elena likhovtseva in the second round after the russian struggled past tunisian wild card selima sfar 2-6 6-2 7-6. likhovtseva needed nine match points before seeing off sfar  who got a point penalty for swearing in the third set. seventh seed nathalie dechy and elena bovina were among other first-round winners on tuesday.


barclays profits hit record level barclays  the uk s third-biggest bank  has seen annual pre-tax profits climb to record levels boosted by a sharp rise in business at its investment arm.  profits for the year to 31 december rose 20% to £4.6bn ($8.6bn). barclays  chief john varley said the bank had  caught the winds  of a very strong world economy. earnings at barclays capital investment bank rose 25% to £1.04bn  but investment in branch operations held back growth in its uk retail business.  the group is the first of britain s five big banks to report 2004 results. according to analysts  forecasts  hsbc  the biggest uk bank by stock market valuation  will report profits of £9.4bn later this month.  barclays results were in line with market expectations. its global investors wing made £347m  an 82% jump on 2003 figures. profits at barclaycard rose by 5% to £801m but were said to have been affected by a series of interest rate rises and investment to grow its customer base. the bank also blamed margins pressure on its mortgage business and spending on its branches over the past year for a 1% fall in profits in its uk retail division to £1.13bn.   the outlook for 2005 is good as a result of balance sheet growth and investments made in 2004   mr varley said. barclays cautioned that growth this year may be slower than in 2004 on the back of softer us and chinese economies and the impact of interest rate rises on household spending in the uk. it added its bid to acquire a controlling stake in south africa s leading retail bank absa  was being considered by regulatory authorities. speaking on bbc radio 4  mr varley declined to be drawn on reports that barclays had held merger talks with us bank wells fargo. a tie-up between barclays and california-based wells fargo would create the world s fourth biggest bank  valued at $180bn. at 1405 gmt  shares in barclays were trading down 0.67% at 590 pence.  the headline numbers are in line  but the story is costs   said analyst alex potter at lehman brothers.  they are a bit more aggressive than we had expected. the cost overshoot is not in barclays capital but in the uk bank.


soaring oil  hits world economy  the soaring cost of oil has hit global economic growth  although world s major economies should weather the storm of price rises  according to the oecd.  in its latest bi-annual report  the oecd cut its growth predictions for the world s main industrialised regions. us growth would reach 4.4% in 2004  but fall to 3.3% next year from a previous estimate of 3.7%  the oecd said. however  the paris-based economics think tank said it believed the global economy could still regain momentum.  forecasts for japanese growth were also scaled back to 4.0% from 4.4% this year and 2.1% from 2.8% in 2005. but the outlook was worst for the 12-member eurozone bloc  with already sluggish growth forecasts slipping to 1.8% from 2.0% this year and 1.9% from 2.4% in 2005  the oecd said. overall  the report forecast total growth of 3.6% in 2004 for the 30 member countries of the oecd  slipping to 2.9% next year before recovering to 3.1% in 2006.  there are nonetheless good reasons to believe that despite recent oil price turbulence the world economy will regain momentum in a not-too-distant future   said jean-philippe cotis  the oecd s chief economist. the price of crude is about 50% higher than it was at the start of 2004  but down on the record high of $55.67 set in late october.  a dip in oil prices and improving jobs prospects would improve consumer confidence and spending  the oecd said.  the oil shock is not enormous by historical standards - we have seen worse in the seventies. if the oil price does not rise any further  then we think the shock can be absorbed within the next few quarters   vincent koen  a senior economist with the oecd  told the bbc s world business report.  the recovery that was underway  and has been interrupted a bit by the oil shock this year  would then regain momentum in the course of 2005.  china s booming economy and a  spectacular comeback  in japan - albeit one that has faltered in recent months - would help world economic recovery  the oecd said.  supported by strong balance sheets and high profits  the recovery of business investment should continue in north america and start in earnest in europe   it added. however  the report warned:  it remains to be seen whether continental europe will play a strong supportive role through a marked upswing of final domestic demand.  the oecd highlighted current depressed household expenditure in germany and the eurozone s over-reliance on export-led growth.


news corp makes $5.4bn fox offer news corporation is seeking to buy out minority investors in fox entertainment group  its broadcasting subsidiary  for about $5.4bn (£3.7bn).  the media giant  run by rupert murdoch  owns 82% of the shares in the company  home to the fox television network and the 20th century fox film studio. the move follows news corp s decision to register its business in the us. 20th century fox s recent film releases include i heart huckabees and i  robot  while fox puts out hit tv series 24.  under the terms of the offer  minority fox shareholders will receive 1.90 news corp shares in return for each fox share they hold. analysts said the decision to list news corp in the us - which will result in the firm s shares trading in new york rather than sydney- nullified the need to retain a separate stock market listing for fox entertainment shares. news corp investors voted in october to approve the transfer of the company s corporate domicile from australia to the us state of delaware. the move is designed to help news corp attract more investment from the largest us financial institutions  and make it easier to raise capital. fox entertainment group generated revenues of $12bn last year. news corp shares fell 25 cents to $17.65 after the share offer was announced while fox shares were up 19 cents at $31.22.


eu software patent law delayed controversial new eu rules for the patenting of computer-based inventions have been put on hold due to a last minute intervention from poland.  poland - a large and therefore crucial eu member - has requested more time to consider the issue  especially as it relates to the patenting of software. critics say the law would favour large companies over small  innovative ones. they say it could have massive ramifications for developments such as open source software.  polish ministers want to see the phrasing of the text of the directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions changed so that it excludes the patenting of software. the planned law has ignited angry debate about whether the eu should allow the patenting of computer programs and internet business methods as currently happens in the us. so  for instance  us-based amazon.com holds a patent on  one-click shopping . critics claim the law  which the eu says is needed to harmonise with the us  is little more than a law on ideas.  patent rights  it is claimed  protect inventors but in this case it is exclusively the interests of the big companies that are protected   eva lichtenberg  a austrian green member of the european parliament said in a statement.  smaller  innovative firms cannot afford the patenting and legal costs that the directive would inflict on them   she added. the european parliament has already clashed with the european union on the issue and there have been accusations that the process to decide the issue has been undemocratic. the directive has been subject to several previous delays.


orange colour clash set for court a row over the colour orange could hit the courts after mobile phone giant orange launched action against a new mobile venture from easyjet s founder.  orange said it was starting proceedings against the easymobile service for trademark infringement. easymobile uses easygroup s orange branding. founder stelios haji-ioannou has pledged to contest the action. the move comes after the two sides failed to come to an agreement after six months of talks. orange claims the new low-cost mobile service has infringed its rights regarding the use of the colour orange and could confuse customers - known as  passing off .   our brand  and the rights associated with it are extremely important to us   orange said in a statement.  in the absence of any firm commitment from easy  we have been left with no choice but to start an action for trademark infringement and passing off.  however  mr haji-ioannou  who plans to launch easymobile next month  vowed to fight back  saying:  we have nothing to be afraid of in this court case.  it is our right to use our own corporate colour for which we have become famous during the last 10 years.  the easyjet founder also said he planned to add a disclaimer to the easygroup website to ensure customers are aware the easymobile brand has no connection to orange. the new service is the latest venture from easygroup  which includes a chain of internet cafes  budget car rentals and an intercity bus service. easymobile will allow customers to go online to order sim cards and airtime - which will be rented from t-mobile - for their existing handsets.


blog reading explodes in america americans are becoming avid blog readers  with 32 million getting hooked in 2004  according to new research.  the survey  conducted by the pew internet and american life project  showed that blog readership has shot up by 58% in the last year. some of this growth is attributable to political blogs written and read during the us presidential campaign. despite the explosive growth  more than 60% of online americans have still never heard of blogs  the survey found. blogs  or web logs  are online spaces in which people can publish their thoughts  opinions or spread news events in their own words. companies such as google and microsoft provide users with the tools to publish their own blogs.  the rise of blogs has spawned a new desire for immediate news and information  with six million americans now using rss aggregators. rss aggregators are downloaded to pcs and are programmed to subscribe to feeds from blogs  news sites and other websites. the aggregators automatically compile the latest information published online from the blogs or news sites. reading blogs remains far more popular than writing them  the survey found. only 7% of the 120 million us adults who use the internet had created a blog or web-based diary. getting involved is becoming more popular though  with 12% saying they had posted material or comments on other people s blogs.  just under one in 10 of the us s internet users read political blogs such as the daily kos or instapundit during the us presidential campaign. kerry voters were slightly more likely to read them than bush voters. blog creators were likely to be young  well-educated  net-savvy males with good incomes and college educations  the survey found. this was also true of the average blog reader  although the survey found there was a greater than average growth in blog readership among women and those in minorities. the survey was conducted during november and involved telephone surveys of 1 324 internet users.


no re-draft  for eu patent law a proposed european law on software patents will not be re-drafted by the european commission (ec) despite requests by meps.  the law is proving controversial and has been in limbo for a year. some major tech firms say it is needed to protect inventions  while others fear it will hurt smaller tech firms the ec says the council of ministers will adopt a draft version that was agreed upon last may but said it would review  all aspects of the directive . the directive is intended to offer patent protection to inventions that use software to achieve their effect  in other words   computer implemented invention .  in a letter  ec president josé manuel barroso told the president of the european parliament  josep borrell  that the commission  did not intend to refer a new proposal to the parliament and the council (of ministers)  as it had supported the agreement reached by ministers in may 2004.  if the european council agrees on the draft directive it will then return for a second reading at the european parliament. but that will not guarantee that the directive will become law - instead it will probably mean further delays and controversy over the directive. most eu legislation now needs the approval of both parliament and the council of ministers before it becomes law. french green mep alain lipietz warned two weeks ago that if the commission ignored the parliament s request it would be an  insult  to the assembly. he said that the parliament would then reject the council s version of the legislation as part of the final or conciliation stage of the decision procedure. in the us  the patenting of computer programs and internet business methods is permitted.  this means that the us-based amazon.com holds a patent for its  one-click shopping  service  for example. critics are concerned that the directive could lead to a similar model happening in europe. this  they fear  could hurt small software developers because they do not have the legal and financial might of larger companies if they had to fight patent legal action in court. supporters say current laws are inefficient and it would serve to even up a playing field without bringing eu laws in line with the us.


parents face video game lessons ways of ensuring that parents know which video games are suitable for children are to be considered by the games industry.  the issue was discussed at a meeting between uk government officials  industry representatives and the british board of film classification. it follows concerns that children may be playing games aimed at adults which include high levels of violence. in 2003  britons spent £1 152m on games  more than ever before. and this christmas  parents are expected to spend millions on video games and consoles.  violent games have been hit by controversy after the game manhunt was blamed by the parents of 14-year-old stefan pakeerah  who was stabbed to death in leicester in february. his mother  giselle  said her son s killer  warren leblanc  17 - who was jailed for life in september - had mimicked behaviour in the game.  police investigating stefan s murder dismissed its influence and said manhunt was not part of its legal case. the issue of warnings on games for adults was raised on sunday by trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt. this was the focus of the talks between government officials  representatives from the games industry and the british board of film classification.  adults can make informed choices about what games to play. children can t and they deserve to be protected   said culture secretary tessa jowell after the meeting.  industry will consider how to make sure parents know what games their children should and shouldn t play.  roger bennett  director general of entertainment and leisure software publishers association  said:  a number of initiatives were discussed at the meeting.  they will be formulated to create specific proposals to promote greater understanding  recognition and awareness of the games rating system  ensuring that young people are not exposed to inappropriate content.   among the possible measures could be a campaign to explain to parents that many games are made for an adult audience  as well as changes to the labelling of the games themselves.  according to industry statistics  a majority of players are over 18  with the average age of a gamer being 29. academics point out that there has not been any definitive research linking bloodthirsty games such as manhunt with violent responses in players. in a report published this week for the video standards council  dr guy cumberbatch said:  the research evidence on media violence causing harm to viewers is wildly exaggerated and does not stand up to scrutiny.  dr cumberbatch  head of the social policy think tank  the communications research group  reviewed the studies on the issue. he concluded that there was an absence of convincing research that media violence caused harm.


speak easy plan for media players music and film fans will be able to control their digital media players just by speaking to them  under plans in development by two us firms.  scansoft and gracenote are developing technology to give people access to their film and music libraries simply by voice control. they want to give people hands-free access to digital music and films in the car  or at home or on the move. huge media libraries on some players can make finding single songs hard.  voice command-and-control unlocks the potential of devices that can store large digital music collections   said ross blanchard  vice president of business development for gracenote.  these applications will radically change the car entertainment experience  allowing drivers to enjoy their entire music collections without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel   he added.  gracenote provides music library information for millions of different albums for jukeboxes such as apple s itunes. the new technology will be designed so that people can play any individual song or movie out of a collection  just by saying its name. users will also be able to request music that fits a mood or an occasion  or a film just by saying the actor s name.  speech is a natural fit for today s consumer devices  particularly in mobile environments   said alan schwartz  vice president of speechworks  a division of scansoft.  pairing our voice technologies with gracenote s vast music database will bring the benefits of speech technologies to a host of consumer devices and enable people to access their media in ways they ve never imagined.  the two firms did not say if they were developing the technology for languages other than english. users will also be able to get more information on a favourite song they have been listening to by asking:  what is this   portable players are becoming popular in cars and a number of auto firms are working with apple to device interfaces to control the firm s ipod music player. but with tens of thousands of songs able to be stored on one player  voice control would make finding that elusive track by elvis presley much easier. the firms gave no indication about whether the ipod  or any other media player  were in mind for the use of the voice control technology. the companies estimate that the technology will be available in the fourth quarter of 2005.


peer-to-peer nets  here to stay  peer-to-peer (p2p) networks are here to stay  and are on the verge of being exploited by commercial media firms  says a panel of industry experts.  once several high-profile legal cases against file-sharers are resolved this year  firms will be very keen to try and make money from p2p technology. the expert panel probed the future of p2p at the consumer electronics show in las vegas earlier in january. the first convictions for p2p piracy were handed out in the us in january. william trowbridge and michael chicoine pleaded guilty to charges that they infringed copyright by illegally sharing music  movies and software. since the first successful file-sharing network napster was forced to close down  the entertainment industry has been nervous and critical of p2p technology  blaming it for falling sales and piracy. but that is going to change very soon  according to the panel.  the music and film industries have started some big legal cases against owners of legitimate p2p networks - which are not illegal in themselves - and of individuals accused of distributing pirated content over networks. but they have slowly realised that p2p is a good way to distribute content  said travis kalanick  founder and chairman of p2p network red swoosh  and soon they are all going to want a slice of it. they are just waiting to come up with  business models  that work for them  which includes digital rights management and copy-protection standards.  but  until the legal actions are resolved  experimentation with p2p cannot not happen  said michael weiss  president of streamcast networks. remembering the furore around vcrs when they first came out  mr weiss said:  old media always tries to stop new media.  when they can t stop it  they try to control it. then they figure out how to make money and they always make a lot of money.  once the courts decided that the vcr in itself was not an illegal technology  the film studios turned it into an extremely lucrative business. in august 2004  the san francisco-based us court of appeals ruled in favour of grokster and streamcast  two file-sharing networks. the court said they were essentially in the same position that sony was in the 1980s vcr battle  and said that the networks themselves could not be deemed as illegal.  p2p networks usually do not rely on dedicated servers for the transfer of files. instead it uses direct connections between computers - or clients. there are now many different types of p2p systems than work in different ways. p2p nets can be used to share any kind of file  like photos  free software  licensed music and any other digital content. the bbc has already decided to embrace the technology. it aims to offer most of its own programmes for download this year and it will use p2p technology to distribute them. the files would be locked seven days after a programme aired making rights management easier to control. but the technology is still demonised and misunderstood by many. the global entertainment industry says more than 2.6 billion copyrighted music files are downloaded every month  and about half a million films are downloaded a day. legal music download services  like apple itunes  napster  have rushed into the music marketplace to try and lure file-sharers away from free content. sales of legally-downloaded songs grew tenfold in 2004  with 200 million tracks bought online in the us and europe in 12 months  the ifpi reported this week. but such download services are very different from p2p networks  not least because of the financial aspect.  there are several money-spinning models that could turn p2p into a golden egg for commercial entertainment companies. paid-for-pass-along  in which firms receive money each time a file is shared  along with various drm solutions and advertiser-based options are all being considered.  we see there are going to be different models for commoditising p2p   said marc morgenstern  vice president of anti-piracy firm overpeer.   consumers are hungry for it and we will discover new models together   agreed mr morgenstern. but many net users will continue to ignore the entertainment industry s potential controlling grip on content and p2p technology by continuing to use it for their own creations. unsigned bands  for example  use p2p networks to distribute their music effectively  which also draws the attention of record companies looking for new artists to sign.  increasingly  what you are seeing on p2p is consumer-created content   said derek broes  from microsoft.  they will probably pay an increasing role in helping p2p spread   he said. looking into p2p s future  file sharing is just the beginning for p2p networks  as far as mr broes is concerned.  once some of these issues are resolved  you are going to see aggressive movement to protect content  but also in ways that are unimaginable now   he said.  file-sharing is the tip of the iceberg.


apple attacked over sources row civil liberties group the electronic frontier foundation (eff) has joined a legal fight between three us online journalists and apple.  apple wants the reporters to reveal 20 sources used for stories which leaked information about forthcoming products  including the mac mini. the eff  representing the reporters  has asked california s superior court to stop apple pursuing the sources. it argues that the journalists are protected by the american constitution. the eff says the case threatens the basic freedoms of the press.  apple is particularly keen to find the source for information about an unreleased product code-named asteroid and has asked the journalists  e-mail providers to hand over communications relevant to that.  rather than confronting the issue of reporter s privilege head-on  apple is going to the journalist s isps for his e-mails   said eff lawyer kurt opsahl.  this undermines a fundamental first amendment right that protects all reporters.  if the court lets apple get away with this  and exposes the confidences gained by these reporters  potential confidential sources will be deterred from providing information to the media and the public will lose a vital outlet for independent news  analysis and commentary   he said. the case began in december 2004 when apple asked a local californian court to get the journalists to reveal their sources for articles published on websites appleinsider.com and powerpage.org.  apple also sent requested information from the nfox.com  the internet service provider of powerpage s publisher jason o-grady. as well as looking at how far corporations can go in preventing information from being published  the case will also examine whether online journalists have the same privileges and protections as those writing for newspapers and magazines. the eff has gained some powerful allies in its legal battle with apple  including professor tom goldstein  former dean of the journalism school at the university of california and dan gillmor  a well-known silicon valley journalist. apple was not immediately available for comment.


gerrard plays down european hopes steven gerrard has admitted that liverpool have little chance of winning the champions league this season.  the 24-year-old reds skipper spoke out ahead of tuesday s first leg at home to bayer leverkusen in the last 16  which he will miss through suspension.  let s be realistic  there are some fantastic teams left in the champions league   he told bbc radio five live.  we are just going to try to stay in as long as possible but we realise that maybe it is not our year this year.  gerrard has made no secret of his desire to be involved in europe s premier club competition.  last season he described qualification for the champions league as the  be all and end all  - and rumours persist that he will leave anfield if the reds fail to secure a place in the competition. he has consistently been linked with a move away from liverpool  with chelsea the favourites to snap up the england midfielder. and blues boss jose mourinho backed gerrard s view that rafael benitez s team could struggle to progress this season.  rafa has still time in front of him to build an even better team  maybe he s a little bit behind (right now)   he told bbc radio five live.  gerrard  who fired liverpool into the last 16 of this season s competition with a brilliant goal in december s win over olympiakos  insisted he was still fully focused on helping liverpool to glory this season. the reds are currently fifth in the premiership table  five points off the crucial fourth spot  which brings champions league qualification - and they face chelsea in sunday s carling cup final.  it s big couple of months for liverpool   he added.  we re fighting for the fourth spot for the champions league for next season but we are still involved in two cup competitions  which are very important.  we are confident we can upset chelsea in the carling cup final and get to the last eight of the champions league because  financially  it is big for the club and  personally for myself  it is very good.


arsenal through on penalties arsenal win 4-2 on penalties  the spanish goalkeeper saved from alan quinn and jon harley as arsenal sealed a quarter-final trip to bolton with a 4-2 victory on penalties. lauren  patrick vieira  freddie ljungberg and ashley cole scored for arsenal  while andy gray and phil jagielka were on target for the blades. michael tonge and harley wasted chances for the underdogs  but paddy kenny was inspired to keep arsenal at bay. arsenal  stripped of attacking talent such as thierry henry and dennis bergkamp  partnered 17-year-old italian striker arturo lupoli with ljungberg up front. it was a revamped arsenal line-up  and they were almost a goal behind within seconds as tonge wasted a glorious chance. gray ran free down the right flank  and his cross left tonge with the simplest of chances  but he blazed over the top from six yards.  arsenal were barely seen as an attacking force in the opening 45 minutes  although ljungberg turned a half-chance wide after good work by cesc fabregas. arsene wenger introduced quincy owusu-abeyie for the ineffective lupoli at half-time  and the pacy dutch youngster had an immediate impact. he ran clear after good work by mathieu flamini  but his finish was tame and kenny saved easily. owusu-abeyie then fired in a testing cross  which was met by fabregas  and it needed a desperate clearance by kenny s legs to save the blades. arsenal were now totally dominant  and were desperately unlucky not to take the lead after 62 minutes when fabregas crashed a rising drive against the bar from 20 yards. it then took a brilliant tackle by jagielka to deny ljungberg as he was poised to strike. arsenal continued to press  and once again kenny was called into action with eight minutes left  diving low to clutch another close-range effort from fabregas. neil warnock s side almost snatched victory in the dying seconds when derek geary s cross found harley at the far post  but his diving header was brilliantly turned over by almunia. owusu-abeyie s pace was causing all sorts of problems for the blades  and as extra-time began  another surging run into the penalty area almost set up a chance for ljungberg. pascal cygan missed arsenal s best chance after 106 minutes  blazing across the face of goal when he was unmarked at the far post. arsenal sent on jeremie aliadiere with seven minutes of extra-time left  and he almost broke the deadlock with his first touch. kolo toure s misplaced free-kick landed at his feet  but kenny once again blocked from a tight angle. arsenal laid siege to sheffield united s goal in the dying minutes  but they somehow held on to force penalties. almunia was then arsenal s hero as another brave blades cup campaign came to a losing end.  kenny  geary  morgan  bromby  harley  liddell  montgomery  jagielka  thirlwell  tonge (quinn 97)  gray.  subs not used: francis  kabba  shaw  haystead.  morgan.  almunia  lauren  cygan  senderos  cole  fabregas (toure 90)  vieira  flamini (aliadiere 113)  clichy  lupoli (owusu-abeyie 45)  ljungberg.  subs not used: eboue  taylor.  clichy  lauren  senderos.  27 595  p dowd (staffordshire).


singapore growth at 8.1% in 2004 singapore s economy grew by 8.1% in 2004  its best performance since 2000  figures from the trade ministry show.  the advance  the second-fastest in asia after china  was led by growth of 13.1% in the key manufacturing sector. however  a slower-than-expected fourth quarter points to more modest growth for the trade-driven economy in 2005 as global technology demand falls back. slowdowns in the us and china could hit electronics exports  while the tsunami disaster may effect the service sector.  economic growth is set to halve in singapore this year to between 3% and 5%. in the fourth quarter  the city state s gross domestic product (gdp) rose at an annual rate of 2.4%. that was up from the third quarter  when it fell 3.0%  but was well below analyst forecasts.  i am surprised at the weak fourth quarter number. the main drag came from electronics   said lian chia liang  economist at jp morgan chase. singapore s economy had contracted over the summer  weighed down by soaring oil prices. the economy s poor performance in the july to september period followed four consecutive quarters of double-digit growth as singapore bounced back strongly from the effects of the deadly sars virus in 2003.