SYDNEY, Dec 15 -- AsiaNet NEXTHOP TECHNOLOGIES... MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif: NextHop Technologies Inc. has launcheda new product family, GateD NGS 2.0, a complete set of Layer 2switching software. www.nexthop.com MONEY TRAIL... SEOUL: An investigation conducted by Speak Up For Diversity(SUFD) alleges that the Korean Information Security Agency(KISA) is granting money to Carnegie Mellon University, USA,despite criticism that the school and its research scientist,David Touretzky, have misused monetary grants. http://www.speakupfordiversity.com FRANKFURT AIRPORT... FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Frankfurt Airport, which is expected inthe next week to top the 50 million passenger mark for thefirst time in the airport's history -- again registered newrecord traffic figures for the reporting month of November2004. http://www.fraport.com CORPORATE GOVERNANCE... NEW YORK & LONDON: Global index provider FTSE Group andcorporate governance firm Institutional Shareholder Services(ISS) will release the first phase of the joint FTSE ISSCorporate Governance Index (CGI) Series. http://www.ftse.com/corpgov BLOOMBERG INDONESIA... LONDON: Bloomberg, a provider of business and financial newsand data around the globe, has announced the opening of thefirst Overnight Index Swaps market in Indonesia. KYOTO WRONG... BUENOS AIRES: A new report by the Australian APEC StudyCentre says the fastest growing economies in the world would bedamaged if they adopted Kyoto Protocol targets to cutemissions. http://www.apec.org.au BIGGER, BETTER... SYDNEY: When Kelly told her fiancaac? Paul that she wanted abreast enlargement, she never expected this: a plastic surgeryhoneymoon with 14 days luxury holiday in Malaysia! www.gorgeousgetaways.com/plastic_surgery_gift_voucher.htm CHROMIUM PICOLINATE... PURCHASE, N.Y: Nutrition 21, Inc. -- The UK Food StandardsAgency (FSA) have announced that consumers can be confidentthat chromium picolinate is a safe dietary supplement, revisingearlier recommendations. http://www.food.gov.uk GLOBAL EMARKETPLACE... HOUSTON, Texas: Quadrem, the Global eMarketplace, and OFSPortal LLC, a community of major upstream oil and gas suppliersthat participate in the advancement of e-commerce, have signedan interoperability agreement enabling members of bothcommunities to connect with each other and engage inbusiness-to-business transactions. http://www.ofs-portal.com AMERICAN DESI... NEW YORK: American Desi, the first and only 24-hour Englishlanguage American television network for South Asians living inAmerica, announced the appointment of senior management,advisors and on-air talent. http://www.AmericanDesi.tv US TV... NEW YORK & ENGLEWOOD, Colo: American Desi, the first24-hour, English-language American television network for SouthAsians living in America, was officially unveiled. http://www.AmericanDesi.tv INTEGRATED RESEARCH... SYDNEY: Integrated Research announced the release ofPROGNOSIS Transaction Surveillance for ATM (Automated TellerMachine) and POS (Point of Sale) systems. www.ir.com GENTEX CORP... ZEELAND, Mich: Gentex Corporation, a supplier ofautomatic-dimming mirrors to the worldwide automotive industry,has begun shipping interior auto-dimming mirrors for the 2005Kia Sportage, a compact SUV. http://www.gentex.com CAR FEST... LOS ANGELES: Imagine what the Ultimate LA Machine would be.Then, ask automobile designers to come up with theirinterpretation and you'll get a broad array of creative ideas.That's precisely what the Los Angeles Auto Show asked LosAngeles area automobile design studios to do -- and the resultsare fascinating, entertaining and thought provoking. http://www.laautoshow.com SMELLS GOOD... SYDNEY: A battle of the airwaves of a different kind isheating up across New Zealand as the country's leading airfreshener brands slug it out for a slice of the lucrative aircare market. ALERTING TECHNOLOGIES... OSLO: Fast Search & Transfer, a developer of enterprisesearch and real-time alerting technologies, announced that ithas received a number of prominent awards from leading searchand IT industry media for the company's innovation andtechnology advancements, as well as its corporate growth. http://www.fastsearch.com BRAZILIAN ONCOLOGY... RESTON, Va: PRA International has announced the formation ofan alliance with the Brazilian Cooperative Oncology Group(GBOC), one of the largest oncology consortiums in SouthAmerica. http://www.prainternational.com MANILOW MAGIC... LAS VEGAS, Nev: The Las Vegas Hilton has signed BarryManilow to a long-term engagement through 2005 and beyond, itwas announced by Las Vegas Hilton executives. http://www.lvhilton.com QUANTUM DATA... ELGIN, Illinois: Quantum Data, a provider of video testingproducts, announced an upgrade to their popular 802-seriesHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) generators andanalyzers. http://www.quantumdata.com COPPER PLANT... RIO DE JANEIRO: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) said itwill build a plant to process copper using thehydrometallurgical route. http://www.cvrd.com.br QUALCOMM INDIA... MUMBAI: QUALCOMM Incorporated, developer of Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, announcedthe opening of a BREW Developer Lab in Mumbai, India. http://www.qualcomm.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agenciesdistributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwideclients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)