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A new e-business marketplace aimed at the new media and business services sectors has been launched by Freelance Ireland. Freelancers service suppliers and companies can sign up to the Web site for free for information on business opportunities, requests for quotes (RFQs) and postings about projects from the Irish business community. "Just under 500 service suppliers are receiving projects and we are aiming to double the amount of projects posted to them every month," said Shane Devane, managing director of Freelance Ireland.
The European professional service applications market is likely to improve by the first half of 2003, according to research company IDC. The firm defines the market as professional services-specific applications software that automates all aspects of real estate, business, legal and related professional services, including industry-specific document management and professional services-specific project planning and management. According to an IDC study, the Western European market for professional services applications reached USD454 million in revenues in 2001, a growth of 11.9 percent from 2000, substantially less than the 22.7 percent growth achieved the previous year. Nonetheless, even though overall growth of the market was slower than expected, it grew much faster than the overall enterprise applications market for the same period. IDC forecasts a 2001 to 2006 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.52 percent for the Western European professional services applications market, for a market revenue of USD856 million by 2006.
The Nasdaq stock market is to wind up the operations of Nasdaq Japan in October. Nasdaq Japan, the country's second-largest market for start-up businesses, was launched in 1999 as a joint venture between Japanese Internet investor Softbank Corporation and the US Nasdaq, which each own 43 percent. Last week, the US Nasdaq said it wrote off USD20.1 million on its investment in the Japanese market in the quarter to June. The 98 firms listed on the market will still be able to trade on a renamed Japan New Market, said the Osaka Securities Exchange, which runs Nasdaq Japan on a daily basis. However, some companies are unsure whether they will remain listed on the market without the Nasdaq brand.
Internet media software company RealNetworks is considering offering adult content through its multimedia subscription service, according to CNet News.com. The company is in talks with a number of audio and video producers to expand its RealOne SuperPass content subscription service, said Dave Richards, vice president of consumer systems. SuperPass is an on-line streaming media service that provides news and sports clips to 750,000 subscribers. Although several pornography Web sites use RealNetworks' technology to serve on-line video clips, the company has so far avoided offering adult material through its own content channel. Richards said there were no immediate plans to launch an adult channel on SuperPass but noted that the possibility would not be ruled out.
South African investigators have arrested a gang of suspected Internet racketeers who tricked people into sending them money by posing as the central bank, according to Reuters. Nineteen people, mostly foreigners, were arrested in connection with the scam. "They set up a Web page that looked very much like the central bank Web site, but had nothing to do with it whatsoever," said Gerhald Nell of the Scorpions investigation unit of South Africa's public prosecutors. "Typically, you would receive an e-mail saying 'I have USD10 million available, and I need an account to put it in,' and promising to give you a commission in exchange," Nell said. The gang contacted victims and referred them to the Web site to support their story. Nell could not confirm how much money was involved, but a police spokesman said the figure could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Parts of the Bible have been re-written by Christians to appeal to young mobile phone users. The book, to be published later this month, is called "r father n hvn: up 2 d8 txts frm d bible." Author Simon Jenkins, had the idea for the book after reading about a German pastor who preached a sermon to young people by sending them text messages. "We saw an opportunity to make the Bible accessible to today's youth culture, so we re-wrote parts of the Bible for a generation that rarely darkens the doors of the local church," he said. The book includes an updated version of the "10 Com&ments": "God: 'Im No.1. No pix, plz. Uz my name nicely. Day7=holy. Take care of mum'n'dad. Don't kill, scrU round, steal or lie. Keep yr hands (&eyz) off wot isnt yrs.'"
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