SYDNEY, June 10 -- AsiaNet ARTIFICIAL LIFE... HONG KONG: Hong Kong based Artificial Life, Inc. a leading provider of intelligent agent based mobile and Internet technology and applications has hired Michael Rowan as its Director of Business Development in Europe, a statement said today. www.artificial-life.com TELECOM SOLUTIONS... HERZLIYA: Formula Telecom Solutions, Ltd. (FTS), a developer and provider of Billing and CRM solutions for the telecom industry, is expanding its Asia/Pacific operations and considering the opening of an office in Singapore and will exhibit at the upcoming CommunicAsia Show 2004, June 15-18, 2004, where it will focus efforts on meeting potential partners and customers in the region, a press release revealed. www.fts-soft.com RECIPROCAL AGREEMENT... CHICAGO: United Services recently reached a reciprocal maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) agreement with Korean Air, in a distinctive move reflecting their continued commitment to airline operator-customer relationships. http://www.united.com SUBSTRATE TESTER... SANTA CLARA: AKT, Inc., an Applied Materials company and the world's leading supplier of PECVD systems to the flat panel display industry, announces the AKT-40K EBT (Electron Beam Array Tester) for pixel array testing of TFT-LCD panels on 7th generation substrates, a company statement said. QATAR PROJECT... TULSA: Syntroleum announced today the execution of two agreements with Marathon Oil Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation. http://www.syntroleum.com http://www.marathon.com PHARMACEUTICALS ACQUISITION... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK: Quintiles Transnational Corp. has signed an agreement to sell assets relating to its specialty dermatology products company, Bioglan Pharmaceuticals, to New Jersey-based Bradley Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in a transaction valued at approximately $183 million in cash, plus direct costs for transferred inventory, a release said. http://www.quintiles.com BIOTECH MALAYSIA... SAN FRANCISCO: International biotechnology investors may be granted additional incentives for investing in Malaysia on top of the existing ones enjoyed by foreigners in the country. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the government was willing to sit down and discuss the kind of incentives to be provided for these investors. COMPONENT DISTRIBUTORS... HONG KONG: Global Sources Ltd today released its annual EBN-China Electronic Component Distributor Survey of mainland China electronic component distributors. Conducted by Electronic Buyers' News-China (EBN-China), the company's monthly electronics publication, the survey looks at issues such as market challenges faced by distributors and the methods they use to select the component brands they represent. TRW CHINA... BEIJING: TRW Automotive Holdings Corp, the global leader in automotive safety systems, has launched production of airbag electronic control units (ECUs) from its wholly-owned subsidiary in Anting, China. www.trwauto.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.)