Jul 18--PRNewswire/AsiaNetGLOBAL CONTENT DISTRIBUTION DEAL... BROOMFIELD: Universal Pictures International has signed an extensive distribution deal with Gaiam Inc, a media production company creating personal development, alternative health and fitness programming, which will cover the U.K, Australia, Germany, Japan and Mexico. The programs will be distributed in the countries' native languages, Gaiam Inc said.SYDNEY AIRPORT PRIVATISATION BID... SYDNEY: The Australian government today received a privatisation bid for Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport from a group of international investors, Connect Consortium, comprising ABN AMRO Bank, Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, Challenger, Egis, and Schipol Group.E-BUSINESS SITE TAKES OFF... HONG KONG: The chinadotcom e-business subsidiary responsible for Cathay Pacific Airways' website, Ion Global, today said the company had been awarded "Best Business to Consumer E-Commerce Site" at the recent BusinessOnline and Visa Asian Internet Awards, audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and encompassing entries from 14 countries. EXPECT WINDFALL FROM MEDICAL TESTS, STUDY SAYS... FOSTER CITY: Nuclear acid tests (NATS) used to diagnose infectious diseases and source genetic identity would generate $16 billion for the in vitro diagnostic market (IVD) by 2010, a report issued today from Front Line Strategic Management Consulting Inc has stated.TRANSACTION TECHNOLOGY... DALLAS: S2 Systems Inc, the developer of payment transaction technology for the banking and financial services sector, will overhaul ASB Bank's transaction system and introduce its own platform, the OpeN/2 solution which operates within Windows. The technology, the first of its kind in New Zealand, would expand service delivery and improve customer service, according to a company news release.CAR MANUFACTURING JOINT VENTURE... DEARBORN: Car industry product manufacturers, Visteon Corp. and Lextron Corp. today said they will team under a joint-venture to supply Nissan with cockpit and front-end modules for upcoming truck and minivan models.NEW GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE STRATEGY... MONTREAL: Alcan Inc today launched a new automotive strategy and structure, Alcan Automotive, geared at maximising value through profitable growth by devolving the business development focus in favour of market growth in "vehicle structures, engineered shaped products, high-strength sheet products and primary ingot products."EUROPEAN AIRPORT INCREASES TRAFFIC... FRANKFURT: 24 million passengers have used Frankfurt Airport so far this year - an increase of 600,000 on last year's statistic, Fraport AG, the terminal's owners and operators said today. "Frankfurt Airport remains the number one air cargo gateway in all of Europe," chairman, Dr Wilhelm Bender said.NEW JAPANESE BROADBAND SERVICE... TOKYO: Crosswave Communications Inc today officially launched its new broadband service, MetroWave, which will gradually be rolled out from an initial six locations across Japan.JAPANESE AUTOMOTIVE SUBSIDIARY ESTABLISHED... TOKYO: Covisint Japan K.K, the Japanese subsidiary of the automotive industry e-business supply chain company, has opened its Tokyo headquarters, a company news release announced.EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS: BROOMFIELD: McDATA Corp, the open storage networking developer, has named former Qwest Communications International executive vice president, Mr John A Kelley as president and chief operating officer. WELLINGTON: Mr Chris Moller was today appointed Managing Director of NZMP and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand's Global Dairy Company. (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated press releases for worldwide clients. Contact: www.asianet.com.au for full-text versions).