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World Business Quick Take

■Electronics
Game Boy gets versatile
Nintendo's popular game console "Game Boy Advance" can be turned into a videophone by inserting a digital cassette, allowing game users to enjoy real-time chat services, a company official said yesterday. Japanese chip-maker Digital Act has developed the cassette called "Campho Advance" (camera-phone) that comes with a built-in small camera, an earphone and microphone for just ?13,000 (US$110). "With our cassette, ordinary people can enjoy videophones," said Kazuhisa Saito, president of Digital Act. The company has already won licensing permission from Nintendo and will sell the product in Japan in December.

■ Computers
HP focuses on Asia
Computer and printing giant Hewlett-Packard plans on spending US$100 million in the Asia-Pacific region over the next 12 months, a senior official said in a published report on Friday. Michael Hoffmann, senior vice-president of HP's imaging and printing group in the area, also told The Business Times the company is aiming to double its Asia-Pacific consumer base over the next three years from over 8 million people currently. HP in mid-August unveiled 158 new products in printing, imaging, personal computer and digital technology. Of these new products, 89 will be released in Asia, company executives said. The Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, contributed around 11 percent or US$2 billion of HP's global revenues in its third quarter, which ended July 31, up 8 percent from the same period a year ago.

■ Marketing
Tweens like Coke, not rum
McDonald's and Coca-Cola are rated the coolest brand names by Hong Kong "tweens," young people aged 8 to 14, according to a survey published yesterday. Smoking and drinking alcohol were chosen by the young people as the uncoolest habits, followed by dating and family gatherings. Boy tweens said the coolest pastime was playing online games while girl tweens said they liked listening to top Canto-pop band Twins, according to the survey by the market research firm Bigger Picture. The youngsters rated protecting the environment a cool objective but said it was uncool to volunteer to help with projects like beach clean-ups. Tweens have been identified as a crucial new consumer market as children develop teenage tastes and make sophisticated choices based on their pastimes.

■ Tourism
Hotel expands in China
Intercontinental Hotels Group, the world's second largest hotel operator, plans to increase its presence in China two-fold over the next three years, the Shanghai Daily reported yesterday. The newspaper quoted David Travers, general manager of the Intercontinental Pudong Shanghai, as saying that the company wants to expand its portfolio in China in the next three years to 80 hotels from the current 41. Intercontin-ental owns several brands including Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. He said the company will open two new Intercon-tinental hotels in Shanghai in the next two years and also open its first Holiday Inn in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia.

Agencies
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