wales want rugby league training wales could follow england s lead by training with a rugby league club.  england have already had a three-day session with leeds rhinos  and wales are thought to be interested in a similar clinic with rivals st helens. saints coach ian millward has given his approval  but if it does happen it is unlikely to be this season. saints have a week s training in portugal next week  while wales will play england in the opening six nations match on 5 february.  we have had an approach from wales   confirmed a saints spokesman.  it s in the very early stages but it is something we are giving serious consideration to.  st helens  who are proud of their welsh connections  are obvious partners for the welsh rugby union  despite a spat in 2001 over the collapse of kieron cunningham s proposed £500 000 move to union side swansea. a similar cross-code deal that took iestyn harris from leeds to cardiff in 2001 did go through  before the talented stand-off returned to the 13-man code with bradford bulls. kel coslett  who famously moved from wales to league in the 1960s  is currently saints  football manager  while clive griffiths - wales  defensive coach - is a former st helens player and is thought to be the man behind the latest initiative. scott gibbs  the former wales and lions centre  played for st helens from 1994-96 and was in the challenge cup-winning team at wembley in 1996.


china aviation seeks rescue deal scandal-hit jet fuel supplier china aviation oil has offered to repay its creditors $220m (£117m) of the $550m it lost on trading in oil futures.  the firm said it hoped to pay $100m now and another $120m over eight years. with assets of $200m and liabilities totalling $648m  it needs creditors  backing for the offer to avoid going into bankruptcy. the trading scandal is the biggest to hit singapore since the $1.2bn collapse of barings bank in 1995. chen jiulin  chief executive of china aviation oil (cao)  was arrested by at changi airport by singapore police on 8 december. he was returning from china  where he had headed when cao announced its trading debacle in late-november. the firm had been betting heavily on a fall in the price of oil during october  but prices rose sharply instead.  among the creditors whose backing cao needs for its restructuring plan are banking giants such as barclay s capital and sumitomo mitsui  as well as south korean firm sk energy. of the immediate payment  the firm - china s biggest jet fuel supplier - said it would be paying $30m out of its own resources. the rest would come from its parent company  china aviation oil holding company in beijing. the holding company  owned by the chinese government  holds most of cao s singapore-listed shares. it cut its holding from 75% to 60% on 20 october.


markets signal brazilian recovery the brazilian stock market has risen to a record high as investors display growing confidence in the durability of the country s economic recovery.  the main bovespa index on the sao paolo stock exchange closed at 24 997 points on friday  topping the previous record market close reached the previous day. the market s buoyancy reflects optimism about the brazilian economy  which could grow by as much as 4.5% in 2004. brazil is recovering from last year s recession - its worst in a decade.  economic output declined 0.2% in 2003 and president luiz inacio lula da silva - elected as brazil s first working-class president in 2002 - was strongly criticised for pursuing a hardline economic policy.  investors have praised his handling of the economy as foreign investment has risen  unemployment has fallen and inflation has been brought under control. analysts believe the stock market will rise above the 25 000 mark for the first time before too long.  there should be more space for gains until the end of the year  somewhere up to 27 000 points   said paschoal tadeu buonomo  head of equities trading at brokers tov. brazil s currency  the real  also rose to its highest level against the dollar in more than two years on friday. although interest rates still stand at a punitive 17.25%  inflation has fallen from 9% to 7% while exports are booming  particularly of agricultural products.  for the first time in decades  we have all three economic policy pillars in line during a recovery   finance minister antonio palocci told the associated press news agency.  government accounts are in surplus  we have a current account surplus and inflation is under control.   investors were deeply suspicious of president da silva  a former trade union leader who campaigned on a programme of extensive land redistribution and a large rise in the minimum wage. however  mr da silva has stuck to an orthodox monetary policy inherited from his predecessor even in the face of last year s economic crisis. this has earned him the disapproval of rural farm workers  thousands of whom who took to the streets of brasilia on thursday to protest against government policies. president da silva has defended his policies  arguing that brazil cannot afford to continue the cycle of boom and bust which afflicted it in recent decades.


tough rules for ringtone sellers firms that flout rules on how ringtones and other mobile extras are sold could be cut off from all uk phone networks.  the rules allow offenders to be cut off if they do not let consumers know exactly what they get for their money and how to turn off the services. the first month under the new rules has seen at least ten firms suspended while they clean up the way they work. the rules have been brought in to ensure that the problems plaguing net users do not spread to mobile phones.  in the last couple of years ringtones  wallpapers  screensavers and lots of other extras for phones have become hugely popular. but fierce competition is making it difficult for firms to get their wares in front of consumers  said jeremy flynn  head of third party services at vodafone.   if you are not on the operator s portal you are going to have quite heavy marketing costs because it s a problem of how people discover your services   he said. to combat this many ringtone and other mobile content sellers started using a new tactic to squeeze more cash out of customers. this tactic involved signing people up for a subscription to give them  for instance  several ringtones per week or month instead of the single track they thought they were getting. mr flynn said that the move to using subscriptions happened over the space of a few weeks at the end of 2004. websites such as grumbletext.co.uk started getting reports from customers who were racking up large bills for phone content they did not know they had signed up for.  what made us uncomfortable was that these services were not being marketed transparently   said mr flynn.  people did not know they were being offered a subscription service.   we saw potential for substantial consumer harm here   he added.  the swift adoption of subscription services led to the creation of a new code of conduct for firms that want to sell content for mobile phones. the drafting of the new rules was led by the mobile entertainment forum and the uk s phone firms.  everyone is required to conform to this code of conduct   said andrew bud  regulatory head of the mef and executive chairman of messaging firm mblox.   it s all about transparency   he said.  consumers have to be told what they have got themselves into and how to get out of it.   the consumer has a right to be protected   he said. christian harris  partnership manager of mobile content firm zed  said the new system was essential if consumers were to trust companies that sell ringtones and other downloads.  the groundrules must be applied across the whole industry and if that s done effectively we will see the cowboys driven out   he said. the new rules came in to force on 15 january and the first month under the new regime has seen many firms cautioned for not honouring them. some have been told to revamp websites so customers know what they get for their money and what they are signing up for  said mr flynn. also  said mr flynn  vodafone has briefly cut off between eight and ten content sellers flouting the rules.  we have quite draconian contracts with firms   he said.  we do not have to say why. we can just cut them off.  under the rules consumers must be able to switch off the services by using a universal  stop  command sent via text message. he said the system had been designed to limit how much a consumer will pay if they inadvertently signed up for a service.  the mobile is so personal that people really resent the abuse of what is effectively part of their personality   said mr flynn.


bbc poll indicates economic gloom citizens in a majority of nations surveyed in a bbc world service poll believe the world economy is worsening.  most respondents also said their national economy was getting worse. but when asked about their own family s financial outlook  a majority in 14 countries said they were positive about the future. almost 23 000 people in 22 countries were questioned for the poll  which was mostly conducted before the asian tsunami disaster. the poll found that a majority or plurality of people in 13 countries believed the economy was going downhill  compared with respondents in nine countries who believed it was improving. those surveyed in three countries were split. in percentage terms  an average of 44% of respondents in each country said the world economy was getting worse  compared to 34% who said it was improving. similarly  48% were pessimistic about their national economy  while 41% were optimistic. and 47% saw their family s economic conditions improving  as against 36% who said they were getting worse.  the poll of 22 953 people was conducted by the international polling firm globescan  together with the program on international policy attitudes (pipa) at the university of maryland.  while the world economy has picked up from difficult times just a few years ago  people seem to not have fully absorbed this development  though they are personally experiencing its effects   said pipa director steven kull.  people around the world are saying:  i m ok  but the world isn t .  there may be a perception that war  terrorism and religious and political divisions are making the world a worse place  even though that has not so far been reflected in global economic performance  says the bbc s elizabeth blunt.  the countries where people were most optimistic  both for the world and for their own families  were two fast-growing developing economies  china and india  followed by indonesia. china has seen two decades of blistering economic growth  which has led to wealth creation on a huge scale  says the bbc s louisa lim in beijing. but the results also may reflect the untrammelled confidence of people who are subject to endless government propaganda about their country s rosy economic future  our correspondent says. south korea was the most pessimistic  while respondents in italy and mexico were also quite gloomy. the bbc s david willey in rome says one reason for that result is the changeover from the lira to the euro in 2001  which is widely viewed as the biggest reason why their wages and salaries are worth less than they used to be. the philippines was among the most upbeat countries on prospects for respondents  families  but one of the most pessimistic about the world economy. pipa conducted the poll from 15 november 2004 to 3 january 2005 across 22 countries in face-to-face or telephone interviews. the interviews took place between 15 november 2004 and 5 january 2005. the margin of error is between 2.5 and 4 points  depending on the country. in eight of the countries  the sample was limited to major metropolitan areas.


broadband set to revolutionise tv bt is starting its push into television with plans to offer tv over broadband.  as a telecoms company  bt is moving to a content distribution strategy  andrew burke  chief of bt s new entertainment unit told the iptv world forum.  we want to be an entertainment facilitator   he said on the opening day of the london conference. the bbc is also trialling a service to play programmes over the net and has not ruled out offering it to non-licence fee payers overseas. the corporation s interactive media player (imp) is its first foray into broadband tv - known as iptv (internet protocol tv).   we see several opportunities for delivering the type of content that normally broadcasters find it difficult to get to viewers   said bt s andrew burke.  with more people on broadband  and connection speeds increasing  telcos around the world are looking for new ways to make money from it. increased competition between net service providers  encouraged by ofcom  has eroded bt s position in the market. it is looking for a good return on its investment in the technology which has made broadband over adsl a reality. it also sees delivering tv over broadband as a way of getting high-definition (hd) content to people sooner than they will be able to get it through conventional  regular broadcasts. the bbc s imp has just finished successful technical trials and is set for much larger consumer trials later in 2005. before it officially launches  the bbc must show the government how it offers value for money. delivering programmes over broadband offers clear public value  says the bbc  because it gives people more control  and more choice.  iptv is a similar idea to voip services  like skype. both use broadband net connections to carry information  like video and voice  in packets of data instead of conventional means. since it uses internet technology  iptv could mean more choice of programmes  more  more interactivity  tailored programming  and more localised content outside of conventional satellite  digital cable  and terrestrial broadcasts.  it is all part of the larger changing tv technology landscape and  like personal digital video recorders (pvrs)  gives people much more control over tv. broadcasters see iptv and pvrs as both as a threat and an opportunity. the bbc recognises that tv over broadband is a reality and aims to innovate with it  said rahul chakkara  controller of bbci s 24/7 interactive tv services. the imp is based on peer-to-peer technology  and lets people download programmes the bbc owns the rights to for up to seven days after broadcast.  iptv enables us to take back that programme to our audience at different times   said mr chakkara.   so we can tell our audience that that programme they paid for [via the licence fee]  they can access it any time they want.  it helps  said mr burke  that people are more au fait with terms like  digital    interactive   now that digital tv reaches more than 56% of uk homes. according to benoit joly from broadband telecoms firm thales  30% of europe cannot get satellite tv or digital tv. they could get iptv though. analysts say that iptv will account for 10% of the digital tv market in europe alone by the end of the decade. what needs to happen now  agree analysts  is for connection speeds to be bumped up to handle the service; 20mbps connections would be ideal. bt does not see itself as a broadcaster of iptv services  rather as an  enabler   said mr burke. its strategy is a  hybrid  approach  he explained  where over-the-air conventional broadcasts are supplemented with content over broadband.  initially appealing to niche markets  like sports fans  it will widen out. but iptv could be used for home-monitoring   pet cams   localised news services  and local authority tv  too says bt. it even suggests that it could target those households in the uk that do not own a computer  40% of the country.  broadband to them would not be about data and the net - that could come later for them - but about cheap phone calls and more choice of tv programmes. home choice already offers 10 000 hours of shows and channels  delivered over broadband to homes in london. with a broadband net subscription  you can also get your tv and phone service. through content deals and partnerships  it offers satellite as well as terrestrial channels  and bespoke channels based on what viewers pick and choose from its catalogues. it aims to expand nationally  but is seeing a lot of success with what it offers its 15 000 subscribers now  and aims to double uptake as well as reach by the summer. although still at a very early stage  iptv is another application for broadband that underlines its growing prominence as a backbone network - another utility like electricity.


domain system opens door to scams a system to make it easier to create website addresses using alphabets like cyrillic could open a back door for scammers  a trade body has warned.  the internationalised domain names system has been a work in progress for years and has recently been approved by the internet engineering task force. but the uk internet forum (ukif) is concerned that the system will let scammers create fake sites more easily. the problem lies in the computer codes used to represent language.  registering names that look like that of legitimate companies but lead users to fake sites designed to steal passwords and credit card details could become a whole lot easier for determined scammers  says stephen dyer  director of ukif. domain names are the  real language  addresses of websites  rather than their internet protocol address  which is a series of numbers. they are used so people can more easily navigate the web. so-called ascii codes are used to represent european languages but for other languages a hybrid of a system called unicode is used. so  for example  website paypal could now be coded using a mixture of the latin alphabet and the russian alphabet. the resulting domain as displayed to the users would look identical to the real site as a russian  a  look just like an english  a . but the computer code would be different  and the site it would lead users to could be a fake. this is more than just a theory. a fake paypal.com has already been registered with net domain giant verisign by someone who has followed the debate around the internationalised domain name (idn) system  said mr dyer. as the idea was to prove a point rather than be malicious the fake domain has now been handed back to paypal but it sets a worrying precedent  mr dyer said.  although the idn problem is well known in technical circles  the commercial world is totally unaware how easily their websites can be faked   said mr dyer.   it is important to alert users that there is a new and invisible and almost undetectable way of diverting them to what looks like a perfectly genuine site   he added. there are solutions. for instance  browsers could spot domains that use mixed characters and display them in different colours as a warning to users. mr dyer acknowledged that it would be a huge undertaking to update all the world s browsers. another solution  to introduce idn-disabled browsers could be a case of  throwing out the baby with the bath water   he said. centr  the council of european national top level domain registries  agrees.  a rush to introduce idn-disabled browsers into the marketplace is an overly-zealous step that will harm public confidence in idns - a technology that is desperately needed in the non-english speaking world   the organisation said in a statement.


attack prompts bush site block the official re-election site of president george w bush is blocking visits from overseas users for  security reasons .  the blocking began early on monday so those outside the us and trying to view the site got a message saying they are not authorised to view it. but keen net users have shown that the policy is not being very effective. many have found that the site can still be viewed by overseas browsers via several alternative net addresses.  the policy of trying to stop overseas visitors viewing the site is thought to have been adopted in response to an attack on the georgewbush.com website. scott stanzel  a spokesman for the bush-cheney campaign said:  the measure was taken for security reasons.  he declined to elaborate any further on the blocking policy. the barring of non-us visitors has led to the campaign being inundated with calls and forced it to make a statement about why the blocking was taking place. in early october a so-called  denial of service  attack was mounted on the site that bombarded it with data from thousands of pcs. the attack made the site unusable for about five hours.  about the same time the web team of the bush-cheney campaign started using the services of a company called akamai that helps websites deal with the ebbs and flows of visitor traffic. akamai uses a web-based tool called edgescape that lets its customers work out where visitors are based. typically this tool is used to ensure that webpages  video and images load quickly but it can also be used to block traffic. geographic blocking works because the numerical addresses that the net uses to organise itself are handed out on a regional basis. readers of the boingboing weblog have found that viewers can still get at the site by using alternative forms of the george w bush domain name. ironically one of the working alternatives is for a supposedly more secure version of the site. there are now at least three working alternative domains for the bush-cheney campaign that let web users outside the us visit the site. the site can also be seen using anonymous proxy services that are based in the us. some web users in canada also report that they can browse the site.  the international exclusion zone around georgewbush.com was spotted by net monitoring firm netcraft which keeps an eye on traffic patterns across many different sites.  netcraft said that since the early hours of 25 october attempts to view the site through its monitoring stations in london  amsterdam and sydney have failed. by contrast netcraft s four monitoring stations in the us managed to view the site with no problems. data gathered by netcraft on the pattern of traffic to the site shows that the blocking is not the result of another denial of service attack. mike prettejohn  netcraft president  speculated that the blocking decision might have been taken to cut costs  and traffic  in the run-up to the election on 2 november. he said the site may see no reason to distribute content to people who will not be voting next week. managing traffic could also be a good way to ensure that the site stays working in the closing days of the election campaign. however  simply blocking non-us visitors also means that americans overseas are barred too. most american soldiers stationed overseas will be able to see the site as they use the us military s own portion of the net. akamai declined to comment  saying it could not talk about customer websites.


young debut cut short by ginepri fifteen-year-old donald young s first appearance in an atp tennis tournament proved brief as the teenager went out in round one of the san jose open.  young shot to the top of the junior world rankings when he won the boys  singles at january s australian open. but the wildcard entry was dispatched by fellow american robby ginepri in straight sets  6-2 6-2  in california. despite that he was happy with his tour debut.  it was fun. i had my chances  but they didn t come through   he said. young  who beat two players ranked in the top 200 when he was just 14  was only 2-1 down in the first set before losing 10 of the next 13 games. and ginepri - six years older than the youngest player to ever win a junior slam and top the global standings - admitted he was impressed.   he s very talented   said ginepri.  he s got a long future ahead of him.  being left-handed  he was very quick around the court.  his serve is a little deceptive. he came into the net and volleyed better than i thought.  earlier  south korean hyung-taik lee defeated american jan-michael gambill 6-3 7-6 (7-4). american kevin kim defeated jan hernych of the czech republic 7-5 6-3  canadian qualifier frank dancevic downed american jeff morrison 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-0  and denmark s kenneth carlsen beat irakli labadze of the republic of georgia 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-3. top seed andy roddick launches his defence of the title on wednesday against qualifier paul goldstein. second seed andre agassi opens his campaign on tuesday against wildcard bobby reynolds  last year s us collegiate champion. agassi has won the san jose five times  but his run of three straight titles ended last year when he fell to mardy fish in the semi-finals. fish went on to lose to roddick in the final.


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.


pearce keen on succeeding keegan joint assistant boss stuart pearce has admitted he would like to succeed kevin keegan as manager at manchester city.  keegan has decided to step down as city manager when his contract comes to an end in 18 months.  you don t have to be einstein to realise there will be a manager s job available at a really good club   pearce told bbc gmr.  i will certainly be applying for it  although whether the board deem me good enough to take it  i do not know.  pearce initially joined city as a player under keegan in 2001 before becoming part of the coaching staff. he was promoted to joint assistant-manager following the departure of arthur cox last summer.  the former england defender had a year as player-boss with nottingham forest eight seasons ago but has made no secret of his desire to have another crack at the job. he was linked with the manager s job at oldham and keegan has stated he would not get in the way if pearce wanted to leave. but it now appears pearce is keen to wait for his chance at city. he added:  by that time  i will have been here for five years so at least they will have had a good look at me and they are aware of my feelings with regard to being kevin s successor.  obviously  the issue is out of my hands but it is a fantastic job for anybody - i just hope it will be me.


playstation 3 processor unveiled the cell processor  which will drive sony s playstation 3  will run 10-times faster than current pc chips  its designers have said.  sony  ibm and toshiba  who have been working on the cell processor for three years  unveiled the chip on monday. it is being designed for use in graphics workstations  the new playstation console  and has been described as a supercomputer on a chip. the chip will run at speeds of greater than 4 ghz  the firms said. by comparison  rival chip maker intel s fastest processor runs at 3.8 ghz. details of the chip were released at the international solid state circuits conference in san francisco. the new processor is set to ignite a fresh battle between intel and the cell consortium over which processor sits at the centre of digital products. the playstation 3 is expected in 2006  while toshiba plans to incorporate it into high-end televisions next year. ibm has said it will sell a workstation with the chip starting later this year.  cell is comprised of several computing engines  or cores. a core based on ibm s power architecture controls eight  synergistic  processing centres. in all  they can simultaneously carry out 10 instruction sequences  compared with two for current intel chips.  later this year  intel and advanced micro devices plan to release their own  multicore  chips  which also increase the number of instructions that can be executed at once. the cell s specifications suggest the playstation 3 will offer a significant boost in graphics capabilities but analysts cautioned that not all the features in a product announcement will find their way into systems.  any new technology like this has two components   said steve kleynhans  an analyst with meta group. he said:  it has the vision of what it could be because you need the big vision to sell it.  then there s the reality of how it s really going to be used  which generally is several levels down the chain from there.   while the playstation 3 is likely to be the first mass-market product to use cell  the chip s designers have said the flexible architecture means that it would be useful for a wide range of applications  from servers to mobile phones. initial devices are unlikely to be any smaller than a games console  however  because the first version of the cell will run hot enough to need a cooling fan. and while marketing speak describes the chip as a  supercomputer  - it remains significantly slower than the slowest computer on the list of the world s top 500 supercomputers. ibm said cell was  os neutral  and would support multiple operating systems simultaneously but designers would not confirm if microsoft s windows was among those tested with the chip. if cell is to challenge intel s range of chips in the marketplace  it will need to find itself inside pcs  which predominantly run using windows.


ask jeeves tips online ad revival ask jeeves has become the third leading online search firm this week to thank a revival in internet advertising for improving fortunes.  the firm s revenue nearly tripled in the fourth quarter of 2004  exceeding $86m (£46m). ask jeeves  once among the best-known names on the web  is now a relatively modest player. its $17m profit for the quarter was dwarfed by the $204m announced by rival google earlier in the week. during the same quarter  yahoo earned $187m  again tipping a resurgence in online advertising.  the trend has taken hold relatively quickly. late last year  marketing company doubleclick  one of the leading providers of online advertising  warned that some or all of its business would have to be put up for sale. but on thursday  it announced that a sharp turnaround had brought about an unexpected increase in profits. neither ask jeeves nor doubleclick thrilled investors with their profit news  however. in both cases  their shares fell by some 4%. analysts attributed the falls to excessive expectations in some quarters  fuelled by the dramatic outperformance of google on tuesday.


ad firm wpp s profits surge 15% uk advertising giant wpp has posted larger-than-expected annual profits and predicted that it will outperform the market in 2005.  pre-tax profits rose 15% from a year ago to reach £546m ($1.04bn)  ahead of average analysts  forecasts of £532m. revenues were £4.3bn while the firm s operating margins were 14.1%  which it said could reach 14.8% by 2006. during the year wpp bought us rival grey global  creating a giant big enough to rival sector leader omnicom.  chief executive martin sorrell on friday told reuters news agency that wpp had submitted a proposal for united business media s nop world market research unit. analysts say the unit sell could sell for up to £350m. wpp in recent years has also bought firms such as ogilvy & mather and cordiant communications. it also includes the firms young & rubicam and j walter thompson. events such as the olympics helped boost wpp s profits in 2004. the company said the us congressional elections and the fifa world cup are likely to present advertising opportunities in the near future. the long-term outlook looks  very favourable  because of media and technology developments and the strength of the us economy  wpp said.


beckham virus spotted on the net virus writers are trading on interest in david beckham to distribute their malicious wares.  messages are circulating widely that purport to have evidence of the england captain in a compromising position. but anyone visiting the website mentioned in the message will not see pictures of mr beckham but will have their computer infected by a virus. the pernicious program opens a backdoor on a computer so it can be controlled remotely by malicious hackers.  the appearance of the beckham windows trojan is just another example in a long line of viruses that trade on interest in celebrities in an attempt to fuel their spread. tennis player anna kournikova  popstars britney spears and avril lavigne as well as arnold schwarzenegger have all been used in the past to try to con people into opening infected files. the huge amount of interest in mr beckham and his private life and the large number of messages posted to discussion groups on the net might mean that the malicious program catches a lot of people out.  the public s appetite for salacious gossip about the private life of the beckhams might lead some into an unpleasant computer infection   said graham cluley from anti-virus firm sophos. simply opening the message will not infect a user s pc. but anyone visiting the website it mentions who then downloads and opens the fake image file stored on that site will be infected. the program that installs itself is called the hackarmy trojan and it tries to recruit pcs into so-called  bot networks that are often used to distribute spam mail messages or to launch attacks across the web. computers running microsoft windows 95  98  2000  nt and xp are vulnerable to this trojan. many anti-virus programs have been able to detect this trojan since it first appeared early this year and have regularly been updated to catch new variants.


harinordoquy suffers france axe number eight imanol harinordoquy has been dropped from france s squad for the six nations match with ireland in dublin on 12 march.  harinordoquy was a second-half replacement in last saturday s 24-18 defeat to wales. bourgoin lock pascal pape  who has recovered from a sprained ankle  returns to the 22-man squad. wing cedric heymans and ludovic valbon come in for aurelien rougerie and jean-philippe grandclaude.  rougerie hurt his chest against wales while grandclaude was a second-half replacement against both england and wales. valbon  capped in last june s tests against the united states and canada  was a second half replacement in the win over scotland.  france coach bernard laporte said harinordoquy had been axed after a poor display last weekend.  imanol has been dropped from the squad because the least i can say is that he didn t make a thundering comeback against wales   said laporte.  we know the ireland game will be fast and rough and we also want to be able to replace both locks during the game if needed  and gregory lamboley can also come on at number seven or eight.  the grand slam is gone but we ll go to ireland to win.  it will be a very exciting game because ireland have three wins under their belt  have just defeated england and have their eyes set on a grand slam.  france  who lost to wales last week  must defeat the irish to keep alive their hopes of retaining the six nations trophy. ireland are unbeaten in this year s tournament and have their sights set on a first grand slam since 1948.  dimitri yachvili (biarritz)  pierre mignoni (clermont)  yann delaigue (castres)  frederic michalak (stade toulousain)  damien traille (biarritz)  yannick jauzion (stade toulousain)  ludovic valbon (biarritz)  christophe dominici (stade francais)  cedric heymans (stade toulousain)  julien laharrague (brive)  sylvain marconnet (stade francais)  nicolas mas (perpignan)  olivier milloud (bourgoin)  sebastien bruno (sale/eng)  william servat (stade toulousain)  fabien pelous (stade toulousain  capt)  jerome thion (biarritz)  pascal papé (bourgoin)  gregory lamboley (stade toulousain)  serge betsen (biarritz)  julien bonnaire (bourgoin)  yannick nyanga (béziers)


wall street cheers bush victory the us stock market has closed higher in response to george w bush s victory in the presidential elections.  the benchmark dow jones share index closed more than 1% higher at 10 137  while the nasdaq rose 0.9% to 2 004. many investors believe that mr bush s policies are more business-friendly than those of his democrat challenger  john kerry. the higher share prices also reflect relief that a clear winner has emerged from what proved to be a tight poll.  investors had worried that the outcome of the poll would be inconclusive  paving the way for a repeat of the legal wrangling that marred the 2000 election.  the dow lost 5% of its value in the three weeks immediately after that election  when it was unclear who would occupy the white house. mr kerry conceded defeat on wednesday  abandoning last-ditch hopes of carrying the vote in the swing state of ohio.  the relief for the markets may be that we have a decision and can move forward   said tim ghriskey  chief investment officer of solaris asset management. some analysts predicted that the jump in share prices would be short-lived  saying investors would quickly focus once again on the health of the us economy.  i would look at the stock market rally for bush as kind of a one-day event   said ken mayland at clearview economics. the us  recent economic performance has been mixed  with solid growth offset by disappointingly low job creation figures  and mounting worries over a record budget deficit. elsewhere in the financial markets on wednesday  the dollar dipped slightly against the euro and climbed against the yen  while us oil prices closed up $1.26 at $50.88 a barrel in new york. the rise in oil prices partly reflects the view that president bush is less likely than mr kerry to release supplies from the us  strategic oil reserve. share prices in london  frankfurt and paris also closed higher.  successive polls in the run-up to tuesday s election had shown the two candidates running neck and neck.  economic issues  as well as the war in iraq  were the forefront of the campaign. in key swing states such as ohio  which has suffered substantial job losses in the past four years  president bush s handling of the economy became a crucial election issue. senator kerry attacked president bush s economic record during his campaign  hammering home the fact that a net 800 000 jobs were lost during his term in office. president bush focused on the fact that two million jobs have been created in the past year  claiming that it has vindicated his tax-cutting agenda. as for future policies  both candidates pledged to bring america s $422bn federal budget deficit under control. senator kerry planned to increase taxes on those earning more than $200 000 a year. president bush has placed reform of the pensions system at the heart of his economic agenda for a second term. however  economists have said both candidates  economic programmes rested on questionable assumptions about future growth.


halo fans  hope for sequel xbox video game halo 2 has been released in the us on 9 november  with a uk release two days later. why is the game among the most anticipated of all time   halo is considered by many video game pundits to be one of the finest examples of interactive entertainment ever produced and more than 1.5 million people worldwide have pre-ordered the sequel. a science fiction epic  halo centred the action on a human cyborg  controlled by the player  who had to save his crew from an alien horde after a crash landing on a strange and exotic world contained on the interior surface of a giant ring in space. remembrance of things past it was not - but as a slice of schlock science fiction inspired by works such as larry niven s ringworld and the film starship troopers  it fit the bill perfectly. halo stood out from a crowd of similar titles - it was graphically impressive  had tremendous audio  using dolby digital  a decent storyline  instant playability and impressive physics.  but what marked halo as a classic were the thousands of details which brought a feeling of polish and the enormously-high production values not usually associated with video gaming.  produced by bungie software  renowned for their innovation in gaming  it caused a stir among the gaming fraternity when the developer was bought by microsoft and became an xbox exclusive. claude errera  editor of fansite halo.bungie.org  said:  bungie got everything right. they were really careful to make sure everything worked the way it was supposed to.  nothing distracts you when you were playing. there was nothing in halo that had not been done before but everything in there was as good as it could be.  he added:  graphically it was superior to everything else out there.   it also had a depth to it that made it stand out.  halo was unusually immersive  sucking the player into the action and blurring the interface between screen and controller. it also capitalised on the growing popularity of lan gaming in the pc world - for the first time it became easy to link multiple game consoles together  allowing up to 16 players to battle against each other at the same time.  the game instantly cultivated an online following  which continues today with a score of halo fan websites following every aspect of the sequel  halo 2. errera spends three to fours hours a day of his own time maintaining the hugely popular website  which attracts 600 000 page views a day from halo fans eager for the latest news.  when the xbox launched on november 15 2001 in the us  halo was one of the launch titles and had an immediate impact on critics and consumers.  halo is the most important launch game for any console ever   wrote the influential edge magazine in its review  giving it a rare 10 out of 10 mark. the game had its critics and while it is not a one-off original as a game  it brought many original touches and flourishes to the genre which have defined all other first person shooters since.  the first time i played it i just stood there watching the spent shells fall out of my gun   said errera  remarking on the level of detail in the game.  the game also inspired thousands of people to write their own fiction based on the storyline and produce downloadable video clips of the many weird and wonderful things that can be done in the game.  it blew me away the first time someone managed to climb to the top of halo   said errera  referring to a fan who had created a video of master chief scaling the landscape of the graphical world. video clips of the more outrageous stunts that are possible thanks to the game s amazing physics engine are incredibly popular and some have attained a cult following. speculation about the sequel has seen every titbit analysed and poured over with all the intent of a forensic scientist examining a body. when early screenshots of the game were released some people wrote essay-length articles highlighting everything from the texture of graphics to clues about the story line. errera said expectations of the sequel among fans were sky high.  it does not feel like a game release any more. somebody told me this was the biggest single release of any product in microsoft s history.  we re all just hoping that bungie has got it right again.   halo 2 is out on 9 november in the us and 11 november in the uk


mobiles double up as bus tickets mobiles could soon double up as travel cards  with nokia planning to try out a wireless ticket system on german buses.  early next year travellers in the city of hanau  near frankfurt  will be able to pay for tickets by passing their phone over a smart-card reader already installed on the buses. passengers will need to own a nokia 3220 handset which will have a special shell attached to it. the system would reduce queues and make travelling easier  said nokia.  transport systems around the world are seeing the advantage of using ticketless smartcards. using a mobile phone is the next step  said gerhard romen  head of market development at nokia.  the ticketless trial will start early in 2005 and people will also be able to access transport information and timetables via their phones. nokia has worked with electronics giant philips to develop a shell for the mobile phone that will be compatible with hanau s existing ticketing system. the system opens up possibilities for mobile devices to be interact with everyday environments  said mr romen.  it could be used in shops to get product information  at bus-stops to get information about the next bus or  for example  by being passed over an advert of a rock star to find out details of concerts or get ringtones   he told the bbc news website. he is confident that the trial being run in germany could be extended to transport systems in other countries.  the technology offers access to a lot of services and makes it easy to get the information you want   he said.


davenport dismantles young rival top seed lindsay davenport booked her place in the last 16 of the australian open with a convincing 6-2 6-4 win over nicole vaidisova of the czech republic.  the american had too much power for her 15-year-old opponent  breaking twice in the first set and once in the second. the german-born vaidisova rallied well at times but was unable to find a way back after falling behind 3-2 in the opening set. davenport  who closed out with an ace  plays karolina sprem in the next round.  i was fully expecting a tough opponent and was able to play well enough to get through it   said davenport.  i think she hits some great shots. she made some errors but probably some inexperience played a role in that. but she s so young and obviously has a big game and has many  many years to improve on that.  sprem  the croatian 13th seed  saw off russia s elena likhovtseva 6-3 6-2. former world number one  powered her way into the fourth round with a straight sets win over anna smashnova. the 27th seed from israel stuck with williams until 3-3 in the first set before it became one-way traffic.  the american made 26 unforced errors but was still good enough to romp through the contest in exactly an hour. she reeled off nine straight games to finish a 6-3 6-0 winner.  remains on course to become the first australian to win her home title since chris o neil in 1978. the 10th seed equalled her best performance at a grand slam event when she beat unseeded russian nadia petrova 6-3 6-2 to reach the fourth round. after a tough first set  molik grew in confidence and won in just 56 minutes. she will now meet venus williams.  bring it on   said the 23-year-old.  i played pretty well and it was nice to get through in straight sets.   we were destined to meet  i guess   williams said referring to her match with molik.  it will be a huge match for her in australia. i can tell she s probably very motivated by that so i need to get out there and play well.   beat slovakia s daniela hantuchova in a rollercoaster match. dementieva came through 7-5 5-7 6-4  becoming the seventh russian woman to reach the last 16 in melbourne. the match lasted almost three hours and featured 13 service breaks  including three in the final set when dementieva held her nerve to seal the win. she now faces  after the swiss 12th seed beat american abigail spears 7-6 6-3. french open champion  received a free ride into the last 16 after lisa raymond was forced to withdraw. raymond  the 25th seeded american  was ruled out after sustaining a left abdominal muscle tear in the doubles. myskina  the third seed  now plays france s  who beat francesca schiavone of italy 6-3 6-3.  i m extremely disappointed because i couldn t have asked to play better in my first two matches   raymond said.


fiat chief takes steering wheel the chief executive of the fiat conglomerate has taken day-to-day control of its struggling car business in an effort to turn it around.  sergio marchionne has replaced herbert demel as chief executive of fiat auto  with mr demel leaving the company. mr marchionne becomes the fourth head of the business - which is expected to make a 800m euro ($1bn) loss in 2004 - in as many years. fiat underperformed the market in europe last year  seeing flat sales.  the car business has made an operating loss in five of the last six years and was forced to push back its break-even target from 2005 to 2006. the management changes are part of a wider shake-up of the business following fiat s resolution of its dispute with general motors. as part of a major restructuring  fiat is to integrate the maserati car company - currently owned by ferrari - within its own operations. ferrari  in which fiat owns a majority stake  could be separately floated on the stock market in either 2006 or 2007.  mr marchionne  who only joined the company last year  said fiat auto was now the  principal focus  of his attention.  i have made the decision to take on the post of chief executive of the auto unit to speed up the company s recovery   he said.  a profound cultural transformation is underway following a management reorganisation that has delivered a more agile and efficient structure   he added.  although mr marchionne does not have a background in the car industry  he has been playing an increasing role in the group s activities. last year  he said that a series of new models  launched as part of the group s recovery plan  had not boosted revenues as much as hoped. the car business  best known for its alfa romeo marque  is expected to make a loss of about 800m euros in 2004. sales are expected to fall in 2005  fiat said this week  as it exits unprofitable areas such as the rental car market. mr demel  a car industry veteran  took the helm in november 2003 after being recruited by former fiat chief executive giuseppe morchio. mr morchio made a bid last year to become chairman after the death of president umberto agnelli. however  this was rejected by the founding agnelli family and mr morchio subsequently resigned. earlier this week  fiat reached an agreement with gm to dissolve an alliance which could have obliged gm to buy the italian firm outright. gm will pay fiat $2bn as part of the settlement.


mourinho expects fight to finish chelsea manager jose mourinho expects the champions league clash with barcelona to be a fight to the finish.  mourinho is relishing the first leg of the tie against his former club in the last 16 in the nou camp. he said:  i wouldn t be surprised if nothing had been decided by the last minute of the return leg and the match had to go into extra time.  i have to defend what is mine and the champions league is mine at the moment. i m the last manager to have won it.  mourinho never coached barcelona  assisting both sir bobby robson and louis van gaal. but he is not envious  insisting:  i don t have to be jealous about barcelona because they have 100 years of history and have won the european cup once.   i have been managing for five years and i have the same amount of champions league trophies to my name.  barcelona star ronaldinho admitted:  i think that it is going to be a difficult match for us because chelsea have a good team full of big stars.  i have seen chelsea a few times on television  tactically they are very good and they are very strong on the counter-attack.  they pressure very well and keep possession of the ball so it will be important that we play our own game.  i believe they are the two strongest teams in europe. nevertheless  barcelona are accustomed to playing big games at the nou camp  where they have to face the likes of real madrid each season.  it is a special game  the atmosphere in the city changes  there are lots of journalists but inside the dressing room there is not a lot of difference   ronaldinho added.  we are only thinking of winning the match with all respect to the opposition.


boro suffer morrison injury blow middlesbrough midfielder james morrison has been ruled out for up to eight weeks after an operation on tuesday.  the 18-year-old  who has played in 13 of the club s last 14 games  had surgery to repair a double hernia. a club spokesman confirmed:  it is a bilateral sportsman s hernia  which was operated on yesterday.  morrison was sent for scans after being substituted at half-time during boro s 2-1 uefa cup win over graz ak in which he scored the equaliser. his injury is the latest blow for the teessiders  who have been without gaizka mendieta  george boateng and mark viduka for extended periods. meanwhile  the kick-off time for boro s uefa cup match at sporting lisbon on 17 march has been brought forward from 2115 gmt to 1945 gmt.


campese berates whingeing england former australian wing david campese has told england to stop whingeing in the wake of their defeat to ireland.  england coach andy robinson lambasted referee jonathan kaplan for costing them the game after disallowing tries from mark cueto and josh lewsey. but campese told bbc sport:  robinson is living up to england s reputation as whingeing poms.  stop going on about it as who really cares  they re acting like they re the first team to be cheated of a win.   england are contemplating a complaint to the international rugby board after potential  tries  by cueto in the first half and lewsey late on were ruled out without recourse to the video referee. but campese added:  scotland could have beaten france in the same way  but do you see them whingeing   basically  things didn t go england s way and  in typical fashion  they make more of it when they believe they ve lost unfairly.   england are second bottom in the six nations table following defeats by wales  france and ireland. but although campese admitted he was surprised about their current predicament  he insisted england were  no longer world class .  england are beginning to realise that being world champions doesn t mean you deserve to win every game   he said.  they lost a few key players and suddenly everyone s realised the ones on the fringes were not all that good in the first place.  added to that  the senior players aren t standing up and they can t do anything when the pressure mounts.   campese  a veteran of 101 international caps  said full-back jason robinson would now be the sole englishman in his world xv. robinson has been blamed for poor leadership in the tournament  while his coach has been castigated for appointing a full-back captain.  i agree that you can t captain from full-back   said campese.  you need someone in the thick of the action  and it s very hard to give orders from all the way back there.  some people are leaders and some aren t. he s not but there s no one who stands out in england s pack - no clear-cut leaders.  campese  though  defended coach andy robinson  who he believes was the  only choice  after sir clive woodward s resignation.  but he blamed  a lack of talent in the england camp  for making the current coach look poor. england face a potential wooden spoon match against italy on 12 march. and the ex-wallaby added:  if england lost that  they d be in bloody turmoil. that said  i don t think they will.  campese has tipped wales to win both the six nations and grand slam come the end of the tournament.  it s been a surprising tournament   he said   and maybe ireland have a little bit more talent overall.  but playing at home is a major boost. and the possible grand slam decider at the millennium stadium will be just too much for the irish.


edu describes tunnel fracas arsenal s edu has lifted the lid on the scenes that followed manchester united s win over the gunners.  the brazilian confirmed tempers had flared but could shed no light on reports that food was thrown at united boss sir alex ferguson.  i saw people being pulled apart  people pushing  pointing and shouting   he told uefa s official website.  the united players were trying to wind us up about the result but i didn t see any soup being thrown at anyone.  however  edu tried to play down the incidents  adding:  there was nothing that i haven t seen in brazilian derbies.  derby matches in brazil are worse. i like to play in games like this with this intense rivalry.  but edu was highly critical of the ferocity of some of united s challenges during the game  particularly on jose antonio reyes.  i think we were a lot fairer in the tackles than united   he said.  reyes was being kicked all over the park - they were beating up the boy and gary neville was tackling in such a way that he should have been sent off.  following the game  the football association said it would look into events in the tunnel. it also charged ruud van nistelrooy with serious foul play while arsenal boss arsene wenger has been asked to explain comments he made about the referee.


emi shares hit by profit warning shares in music giant emi have sunk by more than 16% after the firm issued a profit warning following disappointing sales and delays to two album releases.  emi said music sales for the year to march will fall 8-9% from the year before  with profits set to be 15% lower than analysts had expected. it blamed poor sales since christmas and delays to the releases of new albums by coldplay and gorillaz. by 1200 gmt on monday  emi shares were down 16.2% at 235.75 pence.  emi said two major albums scheduled for release before the end of the financial year in march - one by coldplay and one by gorillaz - have now had their release dates put back.   emi music s sales  particularly re-orders  in january have also been lower than anticipated and this is expected to continue through february and march   the company added.  therefore  for the full year  at constant currency  emi music s sales are now expected to be 8% to 9% lower than the prior year.  the company said it expected profits to be about £138m ($259.8m). alain levy  chairman and chief executive of emi music  described the performance as  disappointing   but added that he remained optimistic over future trends in the industry.  the physical music market is showing signs of stabilisation in many parts of the world and digital music  in all its forms  continues to develop at a rapid pace   he said.  commenting on the delay to the release of the coldplay and gorillaz albums  mr levy said that  creating and marketing music is not an exact science and cannot always coincide with our reporting periods .  while this rescheduling and recent softness is disappointing  it does not change my views of the improving health of the global recorded music industry   he added. paul richards  an analyst at numis securities  said the market would be focusing on the slump in music sales rather than the timing of the two albums.  it s unusual to see this much of a downgrade just because of phasing   he said.


tottenham bid £8m for forest duo nottingham forest have confirmed they have received an £8m bid from tottenham for andy reid and michael dawson.  reid rejected a move to southampton after forest accepted a cash-plus-players offer while spurs had made previous bids for the 22-year-old. spurs had also made an undisclosed offer for 21-year-old defender dawson. forest chief executive mark arthur said:  we ve received an £8m bid from spurs for the two players and we re considering the offer.  southampton s offer for republic of ireland international reid comprised £3m-plus and two players - brett ormerod and darren kenton.  spurs had seen previous bids of £3m  £4m and £5m for reid rejected by the championship club.


injury sidelines philippoussis mark philippoussis withdrew from the sydney international tennis tournament as expected on sunday after suffering a groin injury during the hopman cup.  his participation in the australian open  which begins on 17 january in melbourne  also remains in doubt. defending women s champion justine henin-hardenne is also out of the sydney event because of a knee injury. in the only main draw men s or women s singles match on sunday  nathalie dechy beat american lisa raymond 7-5 6-3. number one men s seed lleyton hewitt begins his quest for a fourth sydney title on tuesday when he plays karol beck. lindsay davenport  top seed in the women s draw  has been handed a first-round bye and plays france s dechy in the second round on tuesday.


lse doubts boost bidders  shares shares in deutsche boerse have risen more than 3% after a shareholder fund voiced opposition to the firm s planned takeover of the london stock exchange.  tci  which claims to represent owners of 5% of deutsche boerse s (db) shares  has complained that the £1.35bn ($2.5bn) offer for the lse is too high. opposition from tci has fuelled speculation that the proposed takeover could fail. rival exchange operator euronext has also said it may bid for the lse. euronext operates the paris  amsterdam  brussels and lisbon bourses  while deutsche boerse runs the frankfurt exchange.  bbc news spoke to a number of analysts on monday morning about shareholder worries over deutsche boerse s bid for lse. although none were prepared to speak on the record  most thought it was unlikely that tci s opposition would halt the deal   obviously we ll have to wait and see  but i don t think it will make much difference. deutsche boerse appears very committed   said one london-based broker. he forecast the takeover bid would succeed and was more concerned to see improvements in the daily running of the lse. in voicing its opposition to the planned takeover  tci said it would prefer to see deutsche boerse return $500m (£350m) to shareholders. the deutsche boerse was prepared to pay for the lse  exceeds the potential benefits of this acquisition   said tci.  another deutsche boerse shareholder on monday also appeared to back tci s call. another investor in deutsche boerse has supported the view that a payout to shareholders would be preferable to deutsche boerse overpaying for the lse  reuters news agency reported.  we prefer a sensible entrepreneurial solution at a price that is not too high   said rolf dress  a spokesman for union investment.  if that cannot be achieved  then we would wish for a distribution of liquid assets to shareholders.  the financial times also reported a third deutsche boerse shareholder as opposed to the deal. it quoted a spokesman for us-based hedge fund atticus capital complaining that the planned takeover appeared to be motivated by  empire-building  rather than the best interests of shareholders.  tci has called for deutsche boerse to hold an emergency general meeting to discuss the bid for lse. yet under german business law  db does not have to gain shareholder approval before making a significant acquisition. deutsche boerse said tci s opposition would not change its bid approach.  deutsche boerse is convinced that its contemplated cash acquisition of the london stock exchange is in the best interests of its shareholders and the company   it said. db s shares were up 3.4% to 45.25 euros by 1030 gmt  the highest gainer in frankfurt.


minister digs in over doping row the belgian sports minister at the centre of the svetlana kuznetsova doping row says he will not apologise for making allegations against her.  claude eerdekens claims the us open champion tested positive for ephedrine at an exhibition event last month. criticised for making the announcement  he said:  i will never apologise. this product is banned and it s up to her to explain why it s there.  kuznetsova says the stimulant may have been in a cold remedy she took. the russian said she did nothing wrong by taking the medicine during the event. the women s tennis association cleared kuznetsova of any offence because the drug is not banned when taken out of competition.  eerdekens said he made the statement in order to protect the other three players that took part in the tournament  belgian justine henin-hardenne  nathalie dechy of france and russia s elena dementieva. but dechy is fuming that she has been implicated in the row.  how can you be happy when you see your face on the cover page and talking about doping   dechy said.  i m really upset about it and i think the belgian government did a really bad job about this.  i think we deserve an apology from the guy. you cannot say anything like this - you cannot say some stuff like this  saying it s one of these girls. this is terrible.  dementieva is also angry and says that dechy and herself are the real victims of the scandal.  you have no idea what i have been through all these days. it s been too hard on me   she said.  the wta are trying to handle this problem by saying there are three victims  but i see only two victims in this story - me and nathalie dechy  who really have nothing to do with this.  to be honest with you  i don t feel like i want to talk to sveta at all. i m just very upset with the way everything has happened.


beckham relief as real go through david beckham expressed his relief at real madrid s passage to the champions league knockout phase.  after real s 3-0 win at roma  the england skipper admitted another season of under-achievement would not be tolerated at the bernabeu stadium. beckham said:  it s expected of madrid to get through  but it s a relief for the club and players to have won.  we lost momentum last season but we cannot afford to to go another season without winning anything.  real s finish as runners-up in their champions league group means they cannot face his old club manchester united in the next round. but real could be drawn against other premiership hopefuls  arsenal or chelsea  who won their respective groups.  it s going to be great whoever we play  even if we don t get either of the two english teams.


hewitt fights back to reach final lleyton hewitt kept his dream of an australian open title alive with a four-set win over andy roddick in friday s second semi-final.  the home favourite will face marat safin in sunday s final after coming through 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1. hewitt fought back from a set down and trailed in both tie-breaks but would not be denied  thrilling the melbourne crowd with a typically battling effort. he is aiming to be the first australian winner since mark edmondson in 1976. hewitt is the first australian to make the final since pat cash lost to mats wilander in 1988  but faces a huge challenge against safin - the conqueror of roger federer. after needing five sets in his last two matches there was reason to think hewitt might struggle for fitness. he certainly made a sluggish start  dropping his opening service game  and roddick dominated with his huge serve as he took the first set.  after 12 tense games in the second  the key moment came when hewitt raised his game in the tie-break to overturn an early mini-break. that energised the crowd but roddick was not finished and raced 4-1 clear in the crucial third before hewitt pegged him back and forced another tie-break. again roddick broke first and again hewitt fought back  taking the lead with a superb backhand pass.  the australian was not to be denied and a disheartened roddick made little impact in the fourth set as hewitt raced to victory  sending the melbourne crowd wild and ensuring the final will be a huge occasion.  it s awesome   said hewitt.  i started preparing for this tournament nine months ago.  i ve done a lot of hard yards to get here.  i ve always said i d do anything to get in the first night final at the australian open. now i ve got my chance.  roddick was furious with himself for failing to take advantage of leads in both tie-breaks.  i m usually pretty money in those   said roddick.  either one of those would have given me a distinct advantage.  i m mad  i felt i was in there with a shot. he put himself in position to win big points. i donated a little more than i would have wanted.  and the american played down the influence of one spectator who appeared to contribute to a double fault by shouting during rodick s service action.  it just took one jackass to shout out   said roddick  adding that the crowd overall was  very respectful .


iran jails blogger for 14 years an iranian weblogger has been jailed for 14 years on charges of spying and aiding foreign counter-revolutionaries.  arash sigarchi was arrested last month after using his blog to criticise the arrest of other online journalists. mr sigarchi  who also edits a newspaper in northern iran  was sentenced by a revolutionary court in the gilan area. his sentence  criticised by human rights watchdog reporters without borders  comes a day after an online  day of action  to secure his release. iranian authorities have recently clamped down on the growing popularity of weblogs  restricting access to major blogging sites from within iran. a second iranian blogger  motjaba saminejad  who also used his website to report on bloggers  arrests  is still being held.  a spokesman for reporters without borders  which tracks press freedom across the globe  described mr sigarchi s sentence as  harsh  and called on iranian president mohammed khatami to work to secure his immediate release.  the authorities are trying to make an example of him   the organisation said in a statement.   by handing down this harsh sentence against a weblogger  their aim is to dissuade journalists and internet-users from expressing themselves online or contacting foreign media.  in the days before his arrest mr sigarchi gave interviews to the bbc persian service and the us-funded radio farda. iranian authorities have arrested about 20 online journalists during the current crackdown. they accused mr sigarchi of a string of crimes against iranian state  including espionage  insulting the founder of iran s islamic republic  ayatollah ruhollah khomenei  and current supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. mr sigarchi s lawyer labelled the revolutionary court  illegal and incompetent  and called for a retrial in a public court.  mr sigarchi was sentenced one day after an online campaign highlighted his case in a day of action in defence of bloggers around the world.  the committee to protect bloggers designated 22 february 2005 as free mojtaba and arash day. around 10 000 people visited the campaign s website during the day. about 12% of users were based in iran  the campaign s director told the bbc news website. curt hopkins said mr sigarchi s sentence would not dent the resolve of bloggers joining the campaign to help highlight the case.  the eyes of 8 million bloggers are going to be more focused on iran since sigarchi s sentence  not less.  the mullahs won t be able to make a move without it be spread across the blogosphere.


broadband takes on tv viewing the number of europeans with broadband has exploded over the past 12 months  with the web eating into tv viewing habits  research suggests.  just over 54 million people are hooked up to the net via broadband  up from 34 million a year ago  according to market analysts nielsen/netratings. the total number of people online in europe has broken the 100 million mark. the popularity of the net has meant that many are turning away from tv  say analysts jupiter research. it found that a quarter of web users said they spent less time watching tv in favour of the net  the report by nielsen/netratings found that the number of people with fast internet access had risen by 60% over the past year.  the biggest jump was in italy  where it rose by 120%. britain was close behind  with broadband users almost doubling in a year. the growth has been fuelled by lower prices and a wider choice of always-on  fast-net subscription plans.  twelve months ago high speed internet users made up just over one third of the audience in europe; now they are more than 50% and we expect this number to keep growing   said gabrielle prior  nielsen/netratings analyst.  as the number of high-speed surfers grows  websites will need to adapt  update and enhance their content to retain their visitors and encourage new ones.  the total number of europeans online rose by 12% to 100 million over the past year  the report showed  with the biggest rise in france  italy  britain and germany.  the ability to browse web pages at high speed  download files such as music or films and play online games is changing what people do in their spare time.  a study by analysts jupiter research suggested that broadband was challenging television viewing habits. in homes with broadband  40% said they were spending less time watching tv. the threat to tv was greatest in countries where broadband was on the up  in particular the uk  france and spain  said the report. it said tv companies faced a major long-term threat over the next five years  with broadband predicted to grow from 19% to 37% of households by 2009.  year-on-year we are continuing to see a seismic shift in where  when and how europe s population consume media for information and entertainment and this has big implications for tv  newspaper and radio   said jupiter research analyst olivier beauvillian.


british library gets wireless net visitors to the british library will be able to get wireless internet access alongside the extensive information available in its famous reading rooms.  broadband wireless connectivity will be made available in the eleven reading rooms  the auditorium  café  restaurant  and outdoor piazza area. a study revealed that 86% of visitors to the library carried laptops. the technology has been on trial since may and usage levels make the library london s most active public hotspot.  previously many were leaving the building to go to a nearby internet café to access their e-mail  the study found.  at the british library we are continually exploring ways in which technology can help us to improve services to our users   said lynne brindley  chief executive of the british library.  surveys we conducted recently confirmed that  alongside the materials they consult here  our users want to be able to access the internet when they are at the library for research or to communicate with colleagues   she said. the service will be priced at £4.50 for an hour s session or £35 for a monthly pass. the study  conducted by consultancy building zones  found that 16% of visitors came to the library to sit down and use it as a business centre. this could be because of its proximity to busy mainline stations such as kings cross and euston. the study also found that people were spending an average of six hours in the building  making it an ideal wireless hotspot. since may the service has registered 1 200 sessions per week  making it london s most active public hotspot. the majority of visitors wanted to be able to access their e-mail as well as the british library catalogue. the service has been rolled out in partnership with wireless provider the cloud and hewlett packard.  it will operate independently from the library s existing network. the british library receives around 3 000 visitors each day and serves around 500 000 readers each year. people come to view resources which include the world s largest collection of patents and the uk s most extensive collection of science  technology and medical information. the library receives between three and four million requests from remote users around the world each year.


ore costs hit global steel firms shares in steel firms have dropped worldwide amid concerns that higher iron ore costs will hit profit growth.  shares in germany s thyssenkrupp  the uk s corus and france s arcleor fell while japan s nippon steel slid after it agreed to pay 72% more for iron ore. china s baoshan iron and steel co. said it was delaying a share sale because of weak market conditions  adding it would raise steel prices to offset ore costs. the threat of higher raw material costs also hit industries such as carmakers. france s peugeot warned that its profits may decline this year as a result of the higher steel  plastic and commodity prices.  steelmakers have been enjoying record profits as demand for steel has risen  driven by the booming economies of countries such as china and india. steel prices rose by 8% globally in january alone and by 24% in china.  the boom times are far from over  but analysts say that earnings growth may slow. the share price fall was initially triggered by news that two of the world s biggest iron ore suppliers had negotiated contracts at much-higher prices. miners rio tinto and cia. vale do rio dolce (cvrd) this week managed to boost by 72% the price of their iron ore  a key component of steel. analysts had expected japan s nippon to agree to a price rise of between 40% and 50%. steel analyst peter fish  director of sheffield-based consulting group meps  said the extent of cvrd s price rise was  uncharted territory   adding that the steel industry  hasn t seen an increase of this magnitude probably in 50 years . analysts now expect other iron ore producers  such as australia s bhp billiton  to seek annual price rises of up to 70%.  the news triggered the share price weakness.  it sparked worries that steel makers might not be able to increase product prices further [ to cover rising ore costs]  explained kazuhiro takahashi of daiwa securities smbc. in europe  arcelor shed 2.1% to 17.58 euros in paris  with thyssenkrupp dropping 1.7% to 16.87 euros. in london  corus fell 2.2% to 55.57 pence. japan s biggest steel company nippon steel lost 2.5% to 270 yen  with closest rival jfe holdings down 3.4%. china s baoshan  the country s largest steel producer  said that the uncertainty surrounding the industry has prompted it to pull its planned share sale. the firm had been expected to offer 22.5bn yuan ($2.7bn) worth of shares to investors. no date has been given for when the 5 billion shares will come to the market. baoshan stock climbed on news of the delay and its decision to increase the price of its steel by 10%.


uk young top euro earnings league british children enjoy the highest average annual income in europe - more than double that of spanish or italian youngsters  a report suggests.  children in the uk between the ages of 10 and 17 had an annual income of £775  said market analyst datamonitor. they use  pester power  to get their parents to stump up nearly a third of this income  the report said. as for how they spend their cash  the bulk goes on personal care  soft drinks and food  datamonitor said.  datamonitor adds that british teenagers are keen on personal care because it helps them combine two seemingly contradictory emotional needs - the desire to fit in and the desire to express their individuality.  british teenage girls  compared to their counterparts in seven european countries  are the most keen to use make-up products. nearly three out of four girls said they used make-up. according to the datamonitor report the trend marked british teenagers out as  particularly important to cosmetics manufacturers as they are likely to experiment more with brands and products and form long-term beauty routines . and the good times are likely to keep rolling for british children  as the report predicts that they will still be topping the earnings table in 2008.


almagro continues spanish surge unseeded nicolas almagro became the fifth spaniard to reach the last eight at the buenos aires open  ousting eighth seed mariano zabaleta.  he showed admirable resolve to win a rain-affected match 6-7 6-4 6-4. compatriot and seventh seed rafael nadal also reached the last eight  beating italian potito starace 6-1 6-3. nadal  playing in the outdoor clay event for the first time  hit some powerful forehands to oust starace in a match delayed over an hour by rain.  it s always a problem to have to stop for rain but one gets used to it   said spanish teenager nadal.  luckily  i was able to keep my pace going throughout the match.  he will now play gaston gaudio  who beat unseeded brazilian flavio saretta 6-3 6-2 in the day s late match.


robinson out of six nations england captain jason robinson will miss the rest of the six nations because of injury.  robinson  stand-in captain in the absence of jonny wilkinson  had been due to lead england in their final two games against italy and scotland. but the sale full-back pulled out of the squad on wednesday because of a torn ligament in his right thumb. the 30-year-old will undergo an operation on friday but england have yet to name a replacement skipper.  robinson said:  this is very disappointing for me as this means i miss england s last two games in the six nations at twickenham and two games for my club  sale sharks.  but i m looking to be back playing very early in april.   robinson picked up the injury in the 19-13 defeat to ireland at lansdowne road on saturday. and coach andy robinson said:  i am hugely disappointed for jason.  as england captain he has been an immense figure during the autumn internationals and the six nations  leading by example at all times. i look forward to having him back in the england squad.  the announcement is the latest setback for robinson s injury-depleted squad.  among the key figures already missing are jonny wilkinson  mike tindall  will greenwood  julian white and phil vickery - a list which leaves robinson short on candidates for the now vacant captaincy role. former england skipper jeremy guscott told bbc radio five live his choice would be matt dawson  even though he is does not hold a regular starting place.   the obvious choice is dawson  said guscott.  especially given that harry ellis did not have his best game at scrum-half on saturday.  dawson has the credentials and the experience  even though his winning record at captain is not great.  the other option in martin corry  who is the standout forward at the moment.  unfortunately england cannot rely on leaders on the field at the moment.  england will announce their squad for the 12 march game against italy on saturday.


mourinho takes swipe at arsenal chelsea boss jose mourinho has attempted to pile the pressure on title rivals arsenal ahead of the gunners facing newcastle on wednesday.  arsenal will play the magpies a day after chelsea beat portsmouth during a busy festive programme. and mourinho said:  they always seem to have two or three days  rest in which to recover. perhaps it s something to do with the television schedule.  all my players are tired  especially john terry.   chelsea boss jose mourinho admitted his side were  lucky  to win at fratton park but is still unhappy with the amount of games in such a short space of time during this time of year. he added:  we have had to play two matches in three days which is foreign to many of my players and  although i understand the traditions of football here at this time of year  it is not good for your health to do it.   you can sit back and smoke cigars  one after another  and it is a good life  but it is not actually good for you.  playing so many games is certainly not healthy  especially for teams who still have european commitment.


us bank in $515m sec settlement five bank of america subsidiaries have agreed to pay a total of $515m (£277m) to settle an investigation into fraudulent trading share practices.  the us securities and exchange commission announced the settlements  the latest in an industry-wide clean-up of us mutual funds. the sec also said it had brought fraud charges against two ex-senior executives of columbia distributor. columbia distributor was part of fleetboston  bought by boa last year. three other ex-columbia executives agreed settlements with the sec.  the sec has set itself the task of stamping out the mutual funds  use of market-timing  a form of quick-fire  short-term share trading that harms the interests of small investors  with whom mutual funds are particularly popular. in the last two years  it has imposed penalties totalling nearly $2bn on 15 funds. the sec unveiled two separate settlements  one covering boa s direct subsidiaries  and another for businesses that were part of fleetboston at the time. in both cases  it said there had been secret deals to engage in market timing in mutual fund shares. the sec agreed a deal totalling $375m with banc of america capital management  bacap distributors and banc of america securities. it was made up of $250m to pay back gains from market timing  and $125m in penalties. it is to be paid to the damaged funds and their shareholders. separately  the sec said it had reached a $140m deal - equally split between penalties and compensation - in its probe into columbia management advisors (cam) and columbia funds distributor (cfd) and three ex-columbia executives. these businesses became part of boa when it snapped up rival bank fleetboston in a $47bn merger last march.  the sec filed civil fraud charges in a boston federal court against james tambone  who it says headed cfd s sales operations  and his alleged second in command robert hussey. the sec is pressing for the highest tier of financial penalties against the pair for  multiple violations   repayment of any personal gains  and an injunction to prevent future breaches  a spokeswoman for the sec s boston office told the bbc. there was no immediate comment from the men s  lawyers. the sec s settlement with cam and cfd included agreements with three other ex-managers  peter martin  erik gustafson and joseph palombo  who paid personal financial penalties of between $50-100 000.


fannie mae  should restate books  us mortgage company fannie mae should restate its earnings  a move that is likely to put a billion-dollar dent in its accounts  watchdogs have said.  the securities & exchange commission accused fannie mae of using techniques that  did not comply in material respects  with accounting standards. fannie mae last month warned that some records were incorrect. the other main us mortgage firm freddie mac restated earnings by $5bn (£2.6bn) last year after a probe of its books. the sec s comments are likely to increase pressure on congress to strengthen supervision of fannie mae and freddie mac.  the two firms are key parts of the us financial system and effectively underwrite the mortgage market  financing nearly half of all american house purchases and dealing actively in bonds and other financial instruments. the investigation of freddie mac in june 2003 sparked concerns about the wider health of the industry and raised questionsmarks over the role of the office of federal housing enterprise oversight (ofheo)  the industry s main regulator. having been pricked into action  the ofheo turned its attention to fannie may and in september this year said that the firm had tweaked its books to spread earnings more smoothly across quarters and play down the amount of risk it had taken on. the sec found similar problems. the watchdog s chief accountant donald nicolaisen said that  fannie mae s methodology of assessing  measuring and documenting hedge ineffectiveness was inadequate and was not supported  by generally accepted accounting principles.


apple laptop is  greatest gadget  the apple powerbook 100 has been chosen as the greatest gadget of all time  by us magazine mobile pc.  the 1991 laptop was chosen because it was one of the first  lightweight  portable computers and helped define the layout of all future notebook pcs. the magazine has compiled an all-time top 100 list of gadgets  which includes the sony walkman at number three and the 1956 zenith remote control at two. gadgets needed moving parts and/or electronics to warrant inclusion. the magazine staff compiled the list and specified that gadgets also needed to be a  self-contained apparatus that can be used on its own  not a subset of another device .   in general we included only items that were potentially mobile   said the magazine.   in the end  we tried to get to the heart of what really makes a gadget a gadget   it concluded. the oldest  gadget  in the top 100 is the abacus  which the magazine dates at 190 a.d.  and put in 60th place. other pre-electronic gadgets in the top 100 include the sextant from 1731 (59th position)  the marine chronometer from 1761 (42nd position) and the kodak brownie camera from 1900 (28th position). the tivo personal video recorder is the newest device to make the top 10  which also includes the first flash mp3 player (diamond multimedia)  as well as the first  successful  digital camera (casio qv-10) and mobile phone (motorola startac). the most popular gadget of the moment  the apple ipod  is at number 12 in the list while the first sony transistor radio is at number 13.  sony s third entry in the top 20 is the cdp-101 cd player from 1983.  who can forget the crystalline  hiss-free blast of madonna s like a virgin emanating from their first cd player   asked the magazine. karl elsener s knife  the swiss army knife from 1891  is at number 20 in the list. gadgets which could be said to feature surprisingly low down in the list include the original telephone (23rd)  the nintendo gameboy (25th)  and the pulsar quartz digital watch (36th). the list also contains plenty of oddities: the pez sweet dispenser (98th)  1990s toy tamagotchi (86th) and the bizarre ronco inside the shell egg scrambler (84th).  almost everyone has a mobile phone  how many people own a powerbook  or an ipod  the findings of this magazine are not very convincing.  what about the magnetic compass  we still use it 1 000 years after it was invented.  i am amazed by the obsession with individual gadgets rather than genre. for example the sony walkman was the first truly portable way of listening to your own music on the move whereas minidisc  flash mp3  portable cd players etc. are really just improvements in technology.  my favourite  true  gadgets are probably my portable minidisc player and the little battery powered whizzy thing i use to froth up my coffee!  calm down it s only in their opinion  and any list that includes the taser in the top 100 gadgets has to be suspect....  swiss army knife and no question about it. how many of the other items are still relatively unchanged from the original idea and still as useful/popular  you don t need a laptop or even a pocket calculator to work that one out!  this list merely illustrates interesting cultural divides between the american authors and the overwhelmingly british responses. brits see no further than mobile phones and the over thirties sinclair; whilst the americans focus on apple  tv remotes and tivo (which probably is rather obscure in europe).  what about the soda stream. this gadget changed my pre-teen life. lap tops may enable you to  think different  but you cant use them to  get busy with the fizzy   how about astro wars  one of the pioneers for computer games  i remember spending many an hour playing this and it still works today! however tried it the other day and it was rubbish  still a great gadget of its time.  why worry about mobile phones. soon they will be subsumed into the pda s / laptops etc.  what about the marine chronometer  completely revolutionised navigation for boats and was in use for centuries. for it s time  a technological marvel!  sony net minidisc! it paved the way for more mp3 player to explode onto the market. i always used my netmd  and could not go anywhere without it.  a laptop computer is not a gadget! it s a working tool!  the sinclair executive was the world s first pocket calculator. i think this should be there as well.  how about the clockwork radio  or gps  or a pocket calculator  all these things are useful to real people  not just pc magazine editors.  are the people who created this list insane   surely the most important gadget of the modern age is the mobile phone  it has revolutionised communication  which is more than can be said for a niche market laptop. from outside the modern age  the marine chronometer is the single most important gadget  without which modern transportation systems would not have evolved so quickly.  has everyone forgot about the breville pie maker    an interesting list. of the electronic gadgets  thousands of journalists in the early 1980s blessed the original noteboook pc - the tandy 100. the size of a4 paper and light  three weeks on a set of batteries  an excellent keyboard  a modem. a pity tandy did not make it dos compatible.  what s an apple powerbook 100   it s out of date - not much of a  gadget . surely it has to be something simple / timeless - the tin opener  swiss army knife  safety razor blade  wristwatch or the thing for taking stones out of horses hooves    it has to be the mobile phone. no other single device has had such an effect on our way of living in such a short space of time.  the ball point pen has got to be one of the most used and common gadgets ever. also many might be grateful for the pocket calculator which was a great improvement over the slide rule.  the casio pocket calculator that played a simple game and made tinny noises was also a hot gadget in 1980. a true gadget  it could be carried around and shown off.  all top 10 are electronic toys  so the list is probably a better reflection of the current high-tech obsession than anything else. i say this as the swiss army knife only made no 20.  sinclair ql a machine far ahead of its time. the first home machine with a true multi-takings os. shame the marketing was so bad!!!  apple.. a triumph of fashion over... well everything else.  utter rubbish. yes  the apple laptop and sony walkman are classic gadgets. but to call the sextant and the marine chronometer  gadgets  and rank them as less important than a tv remote control reveals a quite shocking lack of historical perspective. the former literally helped change the world by vastly improving navigation at see. the latter is the seed around which the couch potato culture has developed. no competition.  i d also put apple s newton and the first palm pilot there as the front runners for portable computing  and possibly the toshiba libretto for the same reason. i only wish that vulcan inc s flipstart wasn t just vapourware otherwise it would be at the top.  how did a laptop ever manage to beat off the challenge of the wristwatch or the telephone (mobile or otherwise)  what about radios and tvs   the swiss army knife. by far the most useful gadget. i got mine 12 years ago. still wearing and using it a lot! it stood the test of time.  psion organiser series 3  should be up there. had a usable qwerty keyboard  removable storage  good set of apps and programmable. case design was good (batteries in the hinge - a first  i think). great product innovation.  the first mobile pc was voted best gadget by readers of...err... mobile pc ! why do you keep putting these obviously biased lists on your site  it s obviously the mobile phone or remote control  and readers of a less partisan publication would tell you that.  the motorola startac should be number one. why  there will be mobile phones long after notebook computers and other gadgets are either gone or integrated in communications devices.  the psion series 3c! the first most practical way to carry all your info around...  i too would back the sinclair spectrum - without this little beauty i would never have moved into the world of it and earn the living that i do now.  i d have put the mobile phone high up the list. probably a nokia model.  sinclair spectrum - 16k. it plugged into the tv. games were rubbish but it gave me a taste for programming and that s what i do for a living now.  i wish more modern notebooks -- even apple s newest offerings -- were more like the pb100. particularly disheartening is the demise of the trackball  which has given way to the largely useless  trackpad  which every notebook on the market today uses. they re invariably inaccurate  uncomfortable  and cumbersome to use.  congratulations to apple  a deserved win!