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World Business Quick Take

■ RETAIL

Beijing street unveils brand

Beijing's Silk Street Market, famous for knock-off designer gear from North Face jackets to Louis Vuitton bags, has unveiled its own brand and -- apparently with a straight face -- warned counterfeiters not to copy it. The first items to bear the SILKSTREET name include "apparel such as neckties, shirts and scarves, as well as a few household items such as tablecloths," Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. "SILKSTREET products are sold exclusively in the market. Anyone using the brand outside will be held liable," the Beijing Evening News reported.



■ ENERGY

'Gas OPEC' in the pipeline

A group of gas-exporting states led by Iran and Russia is moving toward a formal body like the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Nations (OPEC), a Russian daily said yesterday. The charter for the proposed "gas OPEC" would be presented for approval at the seventh annual meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow in June, the Kommersant broadsheet said, citing Russian government sources. "The main issue being discussed by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum is the transformation of an informal club that has no centralized organization ... into a serious international organisation of gas suppliers," the paper said.



■ VIDEO GAMES

Nintendo profits double

Nintendo Co said yesterday its net profit nearly doubled in the nine months to last month and it lifted its full-year revenue forecast on strong sales of its game consoles including the Wii. Nintendo, which also makes the DS handheld machine, posted 96.3 percent growth in net profit to ¥258.93 billion (US$2.4 billion) in the first three quarters of the financial year. Its operating profit surged 135.1 percent to ¥394.04 billion and sales jumped 84.7 percent to ¥1.316 trillion, a statement said. Nintendo raised its sales forecast for the full year to March to ¥1.63 trillion and left its net-profit forecast unchanged at ¥275 billion.



■ INTERNET

Yahoo mulls MP3 service

Yahoo Inc is in early discussions with major record labels over offering unprotected MP3s either for sale or for free as part of an ad-supported service, two record company executives familiar with the talks said on Wednesday. The talks, held as recently as last month, were preliminary because Yahoo is still working out the details, said the executives, who requested anonymity because of discussions were confidential. Yahoo may launch the service this year, they said.



■ INTERNET

Google, DoCoMo team up

Japan's top mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo is partnering with search engine Google to provide Internet search and other services on the carrier's handsets, the two firms said yesterday. The companies are discussing offering Google's Map for Mobiles on Tokyo-based NTT DoCoMo's i-mode handsets and plan to explore ways to make it easier for users to access Google's e-mail, YouTube and other services, they said in a statement. NTT DoCoMo's i-mode technology is how its cellphones link to the Internet. Google search results will appear by default on the handsets' search portal page starting this spring, the statement said. Ads will also appear through Google's AdWords platform, it said.
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