SYDNEY, Aug.31--AsiaNet/InfoQuest P2P SERVICE... SEOUL - A P2P voice communications technology company,PeerMe officially announced today that the company isintroducing the very first free, unlimited beta version of itsvoice service to domestic users. http://www.PeerMe.com MICROSOFT VISUAL... GOLD COAST - Today at Microsoft Tech*Ed Australia, MicrosoftCorp. announced that Valve Corp has named the upcomingMicrosoft Visual C++(R) 2005 Express Edition as the preferreddevelopment environment for hobbyist Windows developerscreating modifications for Source. http://www.microsoft.com http://www.valvesoftware.com RETAILER'S AWARD... ATLANTA - The Home Depot, the world's largest homeimprovement retailer, today announced that TechtronicIndustries Co. Ltd. has won the retailer's annual innovationaward. http://www.homedepot.com http://www.homedepot.com/mediazone SATELLITE NAVIGATION... LONDON - Gizmondo Europe Ltd today confirmed a deal with ALKTechnologies Ltd. for its satellite navigation application,Gizmondo Navigator 2006 powered by CoPilot, to be released onthe Gizmondo multi-entertainment handheld. http://www.alk.eu.com MERGER AGREEMENT... HERNDON - iDirect Technologies announced Tuesday the companyhas entered into a definitive merger agreement with VisionTechnologies Electronics, Inc to become a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of VTEE. http://www.idirect-tech.com http://www.stengg.com RETAIL NEWTWORK... HONG KONG - Bossini Enterprise Limited has taken the lead tojoin hands with 16 retailers to foster the largest retailalliance in the Asian region, including Hong Kong, China,Singapore and Taiwan, to launch a campaign called to rewardconsumers with prizes and benefits through a network of over2,000 retail outlets. http://www.iprasia.com.hk NEW PRODUCT... MILPITAS - California Micro Devices has introduced a newfamily of Centurion-based Application Specific IntegratedPassive EMI (electromagnetic interference) filter arrays,offering superior EMI filtering performance combined withrobust electrostatic discharge protection in reduced formfactor. http://www.calmicro.com MICREL SWITCHES... SAN JOSE - Micrel Inc., an industry leader in IC analog,high bandwidth and Ethernet solutions, has added to its familyof high-current protected power switches. http://www.micrel.com PAPER VENTURE... SHANGHAI - International Paper Tuesday confirmed the companyis in discussions with Shandong Sun Paper Ltd. about theformation of a joint venture for coated paperboard productionin China. http://www.internationalpaper.com OEM PARTNERSHIP... OSLO - Fast Search & Transfer, the leading developer ofenterprise search and real-time alerting technologies, andIntelliReach Corporation, the email lifecycle managementcompany, announced an OEM partnership to enhance the searchcapabilities of IntelliReach's next-generation messagingmanagement system. http://www.fastsearch.com http://www.intellireach.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agenciesdistributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwideclients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)