SYDNEY--3 May--AsiaNet/InfoQuest CONNECT BEGINS... SINGAPORE - Connect Holdings Limited announced that it has commenced itsvoluntary conditional cash general offer to acquire all the issued shares ofNasdaq-listed Pacific Internet Limited. www.sec.gov ACONEX CONTROLS... MELBOURNE - Aconex, will provide its web-based information managementservice to support Consolidated Construction Consortium Ltds (CCCL)construction of a factory in Chennai, India, for Taiwanese electronics goodmanufacturer, Foxconn. www.aconex.com , .MOBI REGISTRATIONS... DUBLIN and WASHINGTON - dotMobi, the company behind the first and onlyInternet address designed specifically for mobile phones, announced more than500,000 .mobi domains have been registered in 104 countries since the domain'scommercial launch in October 2006. http://mtld.mobi http://blog.mobi http://www.dotmobi.mobi VENETIAN MACAO... MACAO - The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, a Las Vegas Sands Corp. property,said it continues to book Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE)business at a strong pace and has inked several prominent tradeshows over thepast few weeks. http://www.venetian.com BULLGUARD WINS... COPENHAGEN - BullGuard, specialists in user-friendly PC & Mobile securitysolutions, won the IT Channel Vision Award for Best System Builder MarketingProgram/Promotion. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070502/255849 ELSEVIER ENHANCES... ST. LOUIS - Elsevier, a leading publisher of scientific, technical andmedical information products and services, has enhanced MD Consult, its onlineclinical reference tool, to accelerate access to information and educationalcontent for better diagnosis and treatment. http://www.mdconsult.com FDA CLEARANCE... MELBOURNE - Australia's adult stem cell company, Mesoblast Limited announcedthat the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has cleared theInvestigational New Drug Submission (IND) of its US-based sister company,Angioblast Systems Inc., to commence a Phase 2 clinical trial of itsallogeneic, or 'off-the- shelf', adult stem cells for patients with heartattacks. www.mesoblast.com APELON VOCABULARY... RIDGEFIELD, Conn. - Apelon, a leading provider of terminology and datainteroperability solutions, announced that it has placed its DistributedTerminology System (DTS) software in SourceForge as an open source project. http://www.apelon.com/products/dts/dts faq.htm www.Apelon.com http://sourceforge.net/projects/apelon-dts http://www.apelon.com PEPSICO ANNOUNCES... PLANO, Texas - The PepsiCo Board of Directors approved a plan to increasecash returns to shareholders by raising both the Company's targeted dividendpayout rate and its share repurchase authorization amount. http://www.pepsico.com CHINA LOTSYNERGY... HONG KONG and RENO, Nev - China LotSynergy Holdings Limited andInternational Game Technology announced that China LotSynergy Holdings Limitedand International Game Technology have entered into a strategic alliancethrough a Subscription Agreement and a Technical Cooperation Agreement on May1, 2007. http://www.IGT.com MICHAEL SCHUMACHER... VALENCIA - Former Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher tries his handat a different kind of driving behind the wheel of the Emirates Team NewZealand boat. GATE GOURMET... ZURICH - Gate Gourmet, a global airline catering and logistics provider, hastaken its first step to expand into India, one of the world's fastest growingeconomies. http://www.gategourmet.com INCOMM EXPANDS... ATLANTA - Consumers in Australia and New Zealand will soon be able to enjoyenhanced products and services and vastly improved purchase experiences asInComm, North America's leading provider of stored-value gift and prepaidproducts, is extending its product and technology solutions to the Australianand New Zealand marketplaces. http://www.incomm.com ENSR CONDUCTS... KUALA LUMPUR - ENSR has conducted comprehensive health and safety trainingto leading petroleum, chemical and manufacturing companies in three locationsin Asia. http://www.ensr.aecom.com http://www.aecom.com HUDSON HIGHLAND... NEW YORK - Hudson Highland Group, Inc., one of the world's leading providersof permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent managementsolutions, announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31,2007. http://www.hhgroup.com http://www.yahoo.com VWR INTERNATIONAL... WEST CHESTER, Pa. - VWR International, Inc., a portfolio company of Clayton,Dubilier & Rice, Inc. and a leader in the global laboratory supply industry,announced that CDRV Investors, Inc., its parent company, has entered into adefinitive agreement that will result in VWR being acquired by Madison DearbornPartners. http://www.cdr-inc.com http://www.mdcp.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.