ASIANET SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY

Press releases distributed by AsiaNet to Asia Pulse today:

LEGAL CHALLENGE.......
TEXAS: PhoneTel Communications, Fort Worth, said today it had filed law suits "alleging that the North American Trading Corporation, Yamaha, Apple Corporation, Packard Bell NEC, Sprint Communications, Sega, Nintendo, Voyetra-Turtle Beach, and 27 other defendants had violated patents owned by the plaintiff in the areas of caller identification, fax-on-demand, paging, cordless answering machines, digital answering machines, keyboard sound synthesising, and video gaming technology."
WIRELESS INTERNET.......
BEIJING: Internet media company for Chinese communities worldwide, SINA.com, announced today that it would provide content to China's leading telecommunications operators, China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile Communications Corporation via wireless application protocol (WAP).
VENTURE CAPITAL.......
CALIFORNIA: GeneTrol Biotherapeutics, a development stage company focused on human protein biotherapeutics, today announced the completion of a $USM3.9 second round of venture capital financing. Fortune Consulting Group of Taiwan led the round. Other investors included CYPAC Investment Management Limited, Global Ventures, First BioVenture Capital, Asia Pacific Holdings Corp., and Pacific Venture Capital Co. Ltd., all of Taiwan, and Creative Assets Limited of Hong Kong.
FINANCIAL RESULTS.......
HONG KONG: chinadotcom corporation , today reported first quarter total revenues of $USM20, an 84 percent increase from $M11 for the quarter ended December 31, 1999. The gross margin was $M7, or 35 percent of total revenues, increasing from 33 per cent gross margin during the previous quarter.
NEW YORK: TD Waterhouse Group reported record net incomes of $M76.6 for its second fiscal quarter ended April 30, up 156 per cent from the second quarter of 1999. Earnings per share of $0.20 were up 124 per cent and revenues up 96 per cent year-over-year to $M489.
AMSTELVEEN: KLM today reported an Operating Income of NLG 209 million for the Fiscal Year ending March 31, compared to NLG 425 million last year. The company said results were adversely affected by near record level fuel prices and excess industry capacity which produced a profusion of low fares in the market, particularly in the first half of the year.
EVALUATION KITS.......
CALIFORNIA: Developer of microdisplays and mobile information access devices, Inviso, today announced that it was beginning to ship its evaluation kits to manufacturers of cellular handsets, PDAs, digital cameras, glasses-based display devices, and internet appliances who had requested them. A company press statement also said an exclusive agreement to distribute Inviso products in Japan had been signed with Mitsui & Co.
AGREEMENT SIGNED.......
PENNSYLVANIA: Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. announced today that an agreement had been signed to purchase outstanding shares of Electro-Films, Inc. (EFI) located in Providence, Rhode Island. EFI was a technology leader in the manufacture of thin film components and networks on ceramic and silicon including resistors, capacitors, inductors and microwave components.
MARKET LEADER.......
CALIFORNIA: Broadband switching solutions company, Extreme Networks said today it was ranked number one for overall Layer 3 switch port shipments for the quarter ended March 2000 by renowned industry research firm, The Dell'Oro Group.
MUSIC CONFERENCE.......
HONG KONG: A press statement said today the 3rd annual MTV-Billboard Asian Music Conference in Hong Kong on June 1-2. Industry leaders and entertainment experts would " explore creative, legislative and copyright issues in a new world where digital distribution of music online is becoming increasingly significant, as are the consequences for security and authors' rights."
LIFESTYLE SURVEY.......
HONG KONG: A press statement said today a New GenAsians survey (7700 children aged 7-18 in 29 cities in 14 Asia Pacific countries) had revealed that New Zealand children had the second highest level of computer and internet access in the region. The results also showed they rated third highest for computers in their home, personal e-mail addresses and home Internet access.
JAPANESE ARTIFACTS.......
TEXAS:PhoneTel Communications announced a donation of significant artefacts related to the history of the telecommunications industry to the Smithsonian Institution. Early telephone answering devices and supporting documents belonging to the late Japanese inventor, Dr. Kazuo Hashimoto, would be given to the Smithsonian in a Deed of Gift-signing ceremony in Washington