Hongkong Telecom already offers subscribers Internet services including home banking, home shopping and videos and music on demand. The Tuesday announcement did not include the planned investment for the project or when the new services would be available. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is in China angling for a stronger presence in China. He is scheduled to sign an agreement with six mainland Chinese computer companies to bring movies and Internet services to additional mainland television viewers later in the week. The government-sponsored project will use advanced software developed in Microsoft's new research center in Beijing.
Economists watch the figure as a indicator of the nation's economic strength.
Economists and newspaper executives have been expecting a softening in the classified ad market and some think that the figures released Monday may indicate a slowing down of the economy in the coming months. As part of a feature on sports and gambling, Sherman examines the role of the media. Newspapers print Las Vegas-style betting lines, television personalities pick teams based on the point spread, and radio stations do special broadcasts from Las Vegas venues. Critics contend these decision put gambling in the mainstream, accessible to youngsters. The paper's staff has talked about discontinuing the betting lines.