SYDNEY--5 Apr--AsiaNet/InfoQuestNEW SERVICE... BEIJING: Red Book the people who provide vehicle identification and pricinginformation to the automotive, finance and insurance industries have joinedwith www.sohu.com to provide a new and innovative service to people in Chinalooking to buy a used car (or trade-in their existing car). PRECASH EXPANDS... HOUSTON: PreCash Inc., operator of one of the leading cash payment networksin the U.S., announced it has signed an agreement to form China eCash. http://www.precash.com CEO SPEAKS... MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.: Benitec Ltd., a leading developer of RNA interference(RNAi)-based therapeutics, Wednesday announced that Sara Cunningham, ChiefExecutive Officer of Benitec, will be speaking on a panel entitled "RNAi:Advancing Therapeutic Development" at the BIO 2006 Chicago Annual InternationalConvention. http://www.benitec.com FACILITY ARRANGED... PARIS: European Capital, S.A. SICAR Tuesday announced it has arranged theeuro 20 million ($24 million) mezzanine facility of Onduline, a leading globalsupplier of corrugated bitumen sheets to the roofing market. http://www.americancapital.com http://www.EuropeanCapital.com JAPAN SUBSIDIARY... PARIS: As part of its strategy of divesting non-core activities, Valeo onTuesday announced that Valeo Thermal Systems Japan Corporation has signed anagreement with Vantec Corporation to dispose of Zexel Logitec Company and itssubsidiaries, the Japanese logistics group which was acquired in 2000 as partof the Zexel transaction. ANTIVIRAL DRUG... LAVAL, Quebec: REPLICor's lead compound, REP 9, has been shown to havepotent antiviral activity against avian H5N1 influenza virus. www.replicor.com VALEO WINS... AUBURN HILLS, Mich.: Valeo Tuesday announced that its micro-hybridStarter-Alternator Reversible System (StARS) won the 2006 PACE Award in theEuropean Products category. CARDIAC INSTITUTE... MIAMI LAKES, Fla., and WARREN, N.J.: Cordis Corporation Tuesday announcedplans to develop a world-class global cardiac and vascular institute that willprovide physicians and other health care providers with educational andclinical resources designed to help advance the understanding and treatment ofa broad range of cardiac and vascular conditions, including coronary arterydisease and stroke. http://www.cordis.com AIRCRAFT UPGRADES... EAGAN, Minn.: The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Systems Command has awarded LockheedMartin a $6 million Foreign Military Sale contract to begin upgrades to P-3Caircraft for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. http://www.lockheedmartin.com ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE... NICE: A global survey of 4,500 people in 11 countries who reported taking anantibiotic within the past 12 months found many people were concerned aboutantibiotic resistance but fewer understood how improper use of antibioticmedications contributes to the problem. http://www.pfizer.com PROGRAM UPGRADE... MELBOURNE, Fla.: Symetrics Industries Tuesday announced an award from L-3Communications Integrated Systems (L-3 IS), a subsidiary of L-3 Communications,for hardware and support on the Korean P-3 upgrade program. http://www.symetrics.com CVRD DIRECTOR... RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce informs that it hasindicated Tito Botelho Martins to the Board of Directors to be the ExecutiveDirector of Corporate Affairs. http://www.cvrd.com.br PRICING INITIATIVE... ST. JOHNS, Antigua: World Poker Exchange ( http://www.Worldpx.com ) onTuesday announced a major pricing initiative that threatens to radicallytransform the $5.5-billion online poker industry. http://www.Worldpx.com NEW COLORS... LAS VEGAS: Motorola on Tuesday announced the addition of three newattention-getting shades to the spun metal exterior of the RAZR V3i. http://www.hellomoto.com http://www.motorola.com/motoinfo http://www.motorola.com NEW MEMBER... RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina: Semiconductor Research Corporation(SRC), a leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and relatedtechnologies, Tuesday announced that Applied Materials, Inc. has joined theconsortium's community of 23 companies and partners plus 100 universitiesworldwide. http://www.src.org http://www.appliedmaterials.com EMI FILTER... MILPITAS, Calif.: California Micro Devices has introduced a new generationPraetorian CM1452 EMI (electromagnetic interference) filter that offersoutstanding filter performance combined with a high level of ESD (electrostaticdischarge) protection in an industry leading, compact 0.40mm pitch Chip ScalePackage (CSP). http://www.calmicro.com WIRELESS INTERNET... LAS VEGAS: Combining the freedom of hands-free connectivity with mobileentertainment, Motorola, Inc. and Skype, the global Internet communicationscompany, has unveiled the Motorola Talk & Tunes Wireless Internet Calling Kitwith stereo - an unprecedented innovation in Bluetooth technology that letsSkype users simultaneously and wirelessly listen to music and manage calls overthe Internet from a PC. http://www.motorola.com CDMA PORTFOLIO... LAS VEGAS: Motorola, Inc. on Tuesday announced two new additions to its CDMAportfolio -- the Motorola V3m and the Motorola W315. http://www.motorola.com http://www.hellomoto.com http://www.motorola.com/motoinfo MARVELL APPOINTS... SUNNYVALE, Calif.: Marvell, the leader in storage, communications andconsumer silicon solutions, on Tuesday announced that Weili Dai has beenappointed Chief Operating Officer (COO). http://www.marvell.com LCD-TV SYSTEM... SANTA CLARA, Calif.: Tvia, Inc., a leading provider of digital displayprocessors for advanced flat-panel TVs, broadcast digital DVRs, consumerdisplay and monitor products, on Tuesday announced that MiTAC is exclusivelyshipping Tvia's LCD-TV system design and TrueView 5600 chipset in all EuropeanLCD-TV models. http://www.tvia.com http://www.MiTAC.com NEW LOCATION... TULSA, Oklahoma: Alamo Rent A Car, the official rental car of Walt DisneyWorld Resort and Disneyland Resort, on Tuesday announced that it has opened alocation in the heart of the Downtown Disney District. http://www.vanguardcar.com http://www.alamo.com INDUCTIS APPOINTS... NEW YORK: Inductis, a global management consulting and analytics servicesfirm serving Fortune 500 clients in the US, has announced the appointment ofBrian Paris as Vice President, Head of Sales, Marketing and BusinessDevelopment. http://www.inductis.com CE MARK... MILAN, Italy: Sorin Group, Europe's largest medical technology companyspecialized in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced that it hasreceived CE Mark approval for its new Cobalt Chrome Coronary Carbostent: theCHRONO stent. http://www.sorin.com MOSFET DRIVERS... SAN JOSE, Calif.: Micrel Inc., the industry leader in analog, high bandwidthcommunications and Ethernet IC solutions, on Tuesday launched a new line oftiny, high speed MOSFET drivers. http://www.micrel.com SKA PARTNERS... SYDNEY: A milestone in Australian education history has been reached onTuesday with the announcement of Sport Knowledge Australia's (SKA) partnershipwith Asia Pacific based Thomson Learning Australia, a division of globalinformation giant, the Thomson Corporation. www.sportedu.org HIV TREATMENT... JOHANNESBURG: Abbott on Monday announced that it has filed for registrationof the new tablet formulation of its HIV medicine, lopinavir/ritonavir, inSouth Africa. http://www.abbott.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited,translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net forfull-text versions.)