SYDNEY, Dec. 8 --AsiaNet/InfoQuest LINUX PRODUCT... MUMBAI: i-flex(R) solutions, a leading provider ofinformation technology solutions to the financial servicesindustry worldwide, announced today the availability of itsflagship product suite, FLEXCUBE(R), on Linux. http://www.iflexsolutions.com SINGAPORE DISTRIBUTION... SINGAPORE: Western Digital Corp. today announced that TSRSilicon Resources (Asia) Pte Ltd. will be distributing itsbroad range of storage products in Singapore, expanding thecompany's reach in the Asian market. http://www.westerndigital.com DATING WEBSITE... SYDNEY: Lavalife Corp., one of the leading providers oftechnology-based dating services for singles, today announcedthe launch of Lavalife Australia, a comprehensive online datingsite offering users access to more than 100,000 localmembers. www.lavalife.com.au www.lavalife.com/corp www.lavalife.com/mediaroom SATELLITE SERVICE... AUCKLAND: Stratos Global Corp., the global leader inadvanced mobile and broadband remote communications solutions,today announced that the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) hasofficially accepted delivery of its Enhanced Leasing Service(ELS) using the Inmarsat-B satellite platform following asuccessful system testing period. www.stratosglobal.com TECHNOLOGY AWARD... BARCELONA: Mobile telecoms antenna developer Fractus hasbeen selected by the World Economic Forum as a TechnologyPioneer for 2005. http://www.weforum.org http://www.fractus.com COMPANY ACQUISITION... BEIJING: Caterpillar Inc. announced today the signing of adefinitive agreement to acquire Shandong SEM Machinery Co.,Ltd., one of China's key wheel loader manufacturers. http://www.cat.com FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principalamount of 1 securities issue amounting to a total of US$100million on December 17 at a redemption price equal to 100 percent of the principal amount redeemed plus accrued interest. http://www.fanniemae.com ELECTRONICS EXPANSION... ELKTON, Md.: W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (Gore), a leaderin providing high technology solutions for the electronicsindustry, announced today the expansion of their electronicproducts operation into their 80,000 square foot facility inShenzhen, China. http://www.gore.com/electronics INNOVATION RECOGNITION... MONTEREY, Calif.: Crescendo Networks, Ltd., a leadingdeveloper of data center solutions that improvebusiness-critical application delivery, announced Tuesday itsselection as one of Red Herring's Top 100 Innovators. http://www.redherring.com IT SOLUTIONS... LUXEMBOURG, LONDON and GENEVA: SITA INC (InformationNetworking Computing) and Cargolux Airlines International S.A.announced Tuesday their decision to create the world's onlycompany solely dedicated to the provision of IT solutions tothe air cargo industry. http://www.sita.aero http://www.cargolux.com HOTEL GROUP... HONG KONG, AUCKLAND and MELBOURNE: Australia and NewZealand's first Langham Hotels will open their doors on 1January 2005 as members of the world's most prestigious hotelcollection, The Leading Hotels of the World. http://www.langhamhotels.com http://www.langhamhotels.com/melbourne_lobby_english.jpg http://www.langhamhotels.com/auckland_lobby_english.jpg EXPO DETAILS... NAGOYA: Brother Industries, Ltd. has announced the detailsof its exhibition, which will be one of the main features ofEXPO 2005. NEW SERVICE... BOMBAY: Global information company Reuters announced Tuesdaythe launch of Reuters Order Routing for Equities (RORE) tosupport South Asia's trading and investment community at a oneweek event to be held on 7-10 December, 2004 in Bombay. http://www.about.reuters.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agenciesdistributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwideclients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)