SYDNEY, May 7 -- AsiaNet TIES EXPANDED... SINGAPORE: Equinix, Inc., the leading provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchange services and IBM Friday announced that IBM has expanded its relationship with Equinix and will begin operating within Equinix's neutral Internet Business Exchange (IBX) center in Singapore. http://www.equinix.com http://www.ibm.com/sg MOBILE TECHNOLOGY... HONG KONG: Hong Kong based Artificial Life, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent agent based mobile and Internet technology and applications, Friday announced that it is launching its mobile technology platform SEMP in Europe. http://www.artificial-life.com CHINA EXPANSION... HONG KONG & LOS ANGELES, Calif.: LJ International, Inc., one of the fastest-growing fine jewelry companies in the world, Friday announced that it has begun selling jewelry featuring colored stones in China under a new strategic vendor contract with global retailer Carrefour. http://www.ljintl.com JOINT VENTURE... SHENZHEN: On April, 29th, 2004, Zensar Technologies Limited and BroadenGate Systems Inc. signed the official contract to establish a joint venture in overseas development and outsourcing business, targeting American and European clients and multinational companies in China. http://www.zensar.com CMO RESULT... TAINAN: Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) (TAIEX: 3009) Friday reported that net sales for 1Q2004 totaled NT$ 24,709 million, representing a 115.0% growth over 1Q2003's sales of NT$ 11,490 million and a 16.1% growth over the previous quarter sales of NT$ 21,283 million. http://www.cmo.com.tw INTERNET CONTRACT... RESTON, Va.: iDirect Technologies, a privately held company that designs, develops and markets the fastest, most reliable bi-directional satellite-based broadband access solutions, Thursday announced that the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE) has selected iDirect Technologies to support a contract to provide high-speed internet to 1,539 school locations throughout Puerto Rico. http://www.idirect-tech.com http://www.mobileuniverse.com http://www.mobileuniversepr.com http://www.ussi.org GOOGLE TRIAL... HAMBURG: Similar to France, where Google's use of registered trademarks as AdWord was taken to court by Luis Vuitton, the internet travel agency "Bourse des Vols" and the AXA insurance group as well as by the American Blind & Wallpaper Factory in the United States, the marketing strategy of Google Ad Words will now be legally verified in Germany. http://www.presseportal.de EDB AWARD... ZWIJNDRECHT, The Netherlands: Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube (Singapore) Pte Ltd received the Regional Headquarters Award from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) Thursday. GLOBAL SOURCES... NEW YORK: Global Sources Ltd. expects to release results for the first quarter after the close of regular trading on the Nasdaq stock market on May 12, 2004. www.investor.globalsources.com BIPOLAR DEPRESSION... ALDERLEY PARK: Important new clinical trial data announced Thursday show that patients with depressive episodes associated with the debilitating mental illness manic depression (bipolar disorder) benefited from rapid and significant symptom improvement when treated with quetiapine. http://www.astrazenecapressoffice.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)