Monday, March 10, 2008

Bunkspeed launches Automotive and Transportation Division

Los Angeles, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Bunkspeed, Inc., the provider of groundbreaking 3D rendering solutions, announced today it has created an Automotive and Transportation Division to strengthen its customer support presence in US, European, and Asian markets. The new division will base its operations out of Detroit, Michigan.

Following Bunkspeed's tried and true principle to forge outstanding customer relationships, dedicated service will go hand-in-hand with every sale.

Newly appointed industry veteran Michael Check will lead these efforts as President, Automotive and Transportation Division. Mr. Check will also oversee the recruitment of talented regional technical and sales employees, with a focus on expanding sales of Bunkspeed's 3D rendering applications into localized markets.

He states, "To succeed in the automotive industry, you have to be present. Email and phone calls aren't enough. The Automotive and Transportation Division will provide the Bunkspeed brand of highly personalized service that our customers expect -- and extend that same level of commitment to our invaluable reseller family, as well."

With a client portfolio that includes Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, BMW, Pininfarina, Nissan, Honda, and others, Bunkspeed's HyperDrive has opened up access to high quality CG imagery to the automotive industry. Literally in just minutes, users can apply a vast palette of colors and materials to 3D objects created in popular CAD programs. They can experiment with different lighting effects, import multiple models for side-by-side comparisons, and create dynamic driving animations.

The result is astonishingly realistic imagery that bridges the gap between design, engineering, and marketing. Instant design decisions can be made on a digital model, while companies make the most of their CAD data by transforming them into sleek graphics for web, print, and television ads.

Bunkspeed is a platinum sponsor of the upcoming CGAM conference (http://www.cgamconference.com) in Hollywood, California, March 10 - 11. Stop by booth # 115 to experience Bunkspeed and "CGI made simple".

About Bunkspeed

Bunkspeed is a leading global provider of visualization software and services for design, engineering, and marketing. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, our advanced visualization technologies leverage digital engineering assets and contribute to enlightened decision-making in the digital design process. Our clients gain a cost effective way to deliver sales and marketing imagery, and realize significantly reduced product development costs. Bunkspeed's customers include Nissan, Ford Motor Company, Volvo, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Pininfarina, Chrysler, Mercedes Benz Advanced Design North America, and BMW Designworks.

For more information on Bunkspeed's products and services, visit http:/www.bunkspeed.com.

SOURCE Bunkspeed, Inc.
/CONTACT: Thomas Teger, Director of Marketing of Bunkspeed,
+1-760-918-9780, thomas.teger@bunkspeed.com/
/Web site: http://www.bunkspeed.com
http://www.cgamconference.com /

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

SITL Europe 2008: Germany driving European logistics

Paris, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Germany has been the world's top exporting nation for the last five years. It shipped US$1.13 trillion worth of goods abroad in 2007. Therefore, it is no surprise that logistics is one of Germany's most important industries.

Representatives from Invest in Germany, the country's inward investment promotion agency, will be at SITL 2008 in Paris from March 11-14 to promote the advantages of an investment in Europe's largest economy.

As global integration of industry increases, the need to find reliable logistics services will continue to increase. Germany over the years has proven to be a leader in providing logistics services to companies seeking to enter and expand in the European market. In 2006, logistics industry revenue in Germany fell just short of hitting EUR190 billion, with an annual growth rate of 5%.

Germany is also a global leader in logistics innovation and technology, and it is the leading exporting nation in the intralogistics industry. Germany is home to the world's leading logistics players including Deutsche Post World Net (#1), its subsidiary DHL, and many other smaller companies that are active in Germany, totaling over 2.5 million employees nationwide.

Logistics companies see many advantages in the German market. Its central position in the EU makes it an ideal location for logistics hubs and distribution centers in Europe. Serving over 82 million Germans, 150 million consumers in its 10 neighboring countries, and over 460 million EU residents, Germany is the direct link to western and eastern European markets. Physical and technical infrastructure is also an important factor for logistics companies. Germany not only has a state-of-the-art network of roads, railways, airports, and waterways, but also offers word-class ICT systems.

Invest in Germany is the inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. It provides investors with comprehensive support, from site selection to the implementation of investment decisions. Invest in Germany has stand E028 at SITL 2008.

Media Contact:
Eva Henkel,
Invest in Germany,
Phone: +49-30-200099-173,
Fax: +49-30-200099-111,
Email: henkel@invest-in-germany.com.
http://www.invest-in-germany.com

SOURCE: Invest in Germany
CONTACT: Eva Henkel of Invest in Germany,
+49-30-200099-173, or +49-30-200099-111 Fax,
henkel@invest-in-germany.com
Web site: http://www.invest-in-germany.com

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avast! celebrates 50,000,000th registered user

Prague, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet)- ALWIL Software a.s. is pleased to announce the registration of the fifty millionth (50,000,000th) user of the multi-award winning avast! antivirus.


Commenting on reaching this milestone registration, Eduard Kucera, ALWIL Software a.s. joint founder and CEO said, "This is a major achievement for all of the hardworking team at ALWIL Software, showing that dedication to offering a best-in-class anti-virus solution can pay off for both us as a team, and for our users. Fifty million concurrent users of avast!, demonstrates that we are getting it right." Mr. Kucera continues, "However, we are not complacent with malware protection: in the soon to be released avast! antivirus 4.8, we have added certified anti-spyware capability, anti-rootkit protection, and strong self-protection of the product itself."

The first avast! antivirus free registration took place in January 2002, with the 40 millionth registration taking place October 2007.

Pavel Baudis, joint founder and President of ALWIL Software a.s. commented, "We're very proud of the success of avast! antivirus, and the community of users and supporters who help to make avast! antivirus such a great solution. When Eduard and I started this project twenty years ago, we had no idea that it would turn into the success of today, and we are working non-stop behind the scenes, continuing to be as innovative as we were twenty years ago."

avast! Home Edition is available free-of-charge for non-commercial home use. avast! Professional Edition and avast! Professional Family Pack are available for commercial use. Got to avast.com to download, try and buy them.

For a full version of this press release, see: http://www.avast.com/engpress-release-avast-celebrates-50-000-000th-regi stered-user.html

(Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove the space if one exists.)

Notes to editors:
For press contacts, please email press@avast.com

About ALWIL Software a.s.

For 20 years, ALWIL Software has produced antivirus products that have been developed into the multi-award winning avast! antivirus product line. Headquartered in Prague, in the Czech Republic, ALWIL Software develops and markets avast! antivirus products. Further details about the company and its products can be found on ALWIL's corporate website, http:// www.avast.com.

AVAST(R) is a registered trademark in the United States of America and other countries.

About avast! antivirus products

avast! is the multi-award winning antivirus product line from ALWIL Software a.s., which is ICSA Labs certified; Checkmark certified (for both antivirus and anti-malware); regularly receives the Virus Bulletin 100% award, as well being an SC Awards winning product.

SOURCE ALWIL Software a.s.
CONTACT: Justin Bellinger of ALWIL Software a.s.,
+420-731-504-970
Web site: http://www.avast.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Wyeth to Invest $280 Million to Build State-of-the-Art Nutritional Manufacturing Facility in China

Madison, N.J. and Suzhou (ANTARA/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) announced today that it is investing $280 million to build a state-of-the-art nutritional manufacturing facility in Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu Province, China. The new facility will primarily produce infant formula milk powder and other nutritional products. When completed, the site will be one of the world's largest nutritional manufacturing facilities.

"This investment reflects Wyeth's long-term commitment to pediatric nutrition, as well as the recognition that China is now the fastest-growing market for Wyeth's worldwide nutritional business. When completed, this facility will enable us to meet the growing demand for nutritional products in the Chinese market," said Robert Essner, Wyeth's Chairman of the Board. "A key element of our Company's mission is ensuring that infants and children have access to the best and highest-quality products. This site will help us achieve this objective."

The new facility will become part of Wyeth's global nutritional manufacturing and supply network and will feature state-of-the-art technology for manufacturing milk powder for infants and young children.

Construction at the site started this month, and the plant is scheduled to be operational by late 2010. At full operation, the plant is expected to employ about 500 employees. Products made at this facility will primarily supply the local market.

About Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), has leading products in the areas of women's health care, infectious disease, gastrointestinal health, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines and nutritional products.

Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health.

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of, and expense associated with, research, development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our products, including with respect to our pipeline products; government cost-containment initiatives; restrictions on third-party payments for our products; substantial competition in our industry, including from branded and generic products; data generated on our products; the importance of strong performance from our principal products and our anticipated new product introductions; the highly regulated nature of our business; product liability, intellectual property and other litigation risks and environmental liabilities; uncertainty regarding our intellectual property rights and those of others; difficulties associated with, and regulatory compliance with respect to, manufacturing of our products; risks associated with our strategic relationships; economic conditions including interest and currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; trade buying patterns; the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance; risks and uncertainties associated with global operations and sales; and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K, particularly the discussion under the caption "Item 1A, RISK FACTORS." The forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these risk factors. We assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

For more information, visit www.Wyeth.com

SOURCE Wyeth

CONTACT: Media Contacts: Qing Xi of Wyeth China,
+021-5252-4633; or
Kylie Park of Wyeth Nutritionals,
+1-61-2-8850-8268;
or Kevin Wiggins of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals,
+01-(484)-865-5158; or
Investor Contact: Justin Victoria or Wyeth,
+1-973-660-5340

Web site: http://www.wyeth.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

New report offers comprehensive guide to India`s Telecom operators

The World's Fastest Growing Telecom Market Is Examined in a New, Free Report from Light Reading


New York, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - With the country's 13 mobile operators signing up some 8 million new customers every month, India is certainly the hottest market for telco equipment and services.

But who are the country's major service providers? What geographic areas do they cover? What licenses do they hold? How extensive are their networks? What U.S. companies are lining up to compete there?

Those questions are all addressed in a new report from UBM's Light Reading (www.lightreading.com): "A Guide to India's Telecom Operators." This six-page report, available free of charge, can be viewed by visiting: http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=147300

"As the world's fastest growing telecom market, India is important for service providers, vendors, and observers alike to understand," says Light Reading reporter Nicole Willing, who compiled the report. "Unraveling the country's tangled web of operators, licenses, and service areas has been a real challenge, but it's worth it to get a clear picture of exactly which carriers are doing what, and where they're having the most success."

The wireless and fixed-line operators mentioned in the report include: Aircel, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, BSNL, BT Group, Cable & Wireless, HCL Infinet, IDEA Cellular, Rail Tel Corporation of India, Reliance Communications, Sify Technologies, Spice Telecom, Tata Communications (formerly VSNL), Tulip IT Services, Verizon Business, and Vodafone
Essar.

About Light Reading

Founded in 2000, Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) is the ultimate source for technology and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. It reaches an extensive audience of executives and technologists within the telecom and enterprise networking communities, as well as the financial industry analysts and investors who track these sectors. Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and operates as a member of its TechWeb division.

About United Business Media

United Business Media plc (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com) is a leading global business media company, informing markets and bringing the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, and in print, providing them with the information they need to do business successfully. UBM focuses on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 5,000 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and ensure that their markets work effectively and efficiently.

Contact:
Amy Averbook
Light Reading Communications Group
averbook@lightreading.com
212-925-0020 x112

SOURCE: Light Reading
CONTACT: Amy Averbook,
Light Reading Communications Group,
averbook@lightreading.com,
+1-212-925-0020, ext 112
Web site: http://www.lightreading.com
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=147300
http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008

Atmel introduces AVR MCUs with unique combination of features

Beijing and San Jose, California, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) announced today new AVR(R) microcontrollers combining USB controller and high performance analog features.


The ATmega16U4 and ATmega32U4 reduce system cost in battery powered devices such as gaming accessories.

Battery powered devices can take advantage of being connected to a USB port to recharge. However, modern batteries require sophisticated algorithms to accelerate and optimize charging, while USB brings further constraints on the battery charging since it is limited both in the voltage and the maximum current it can provide.

The new AVR devices allow optimized battery charging combined with USB functions. The analog to digital converter can be used to sense motion or pressure in the end application and the high-speed PWM is ideal for low cost motor control.

Gaming peripherals, such as sophisticated joysticks also require a number of analog to digital conversion channels and several PWM channels to drive force-feedback motors.

The new devices have a rich feature set that address those needs and optimize the global system cost. This includes a 10-bit ADC with 12 channels; a built-in temperature sensor allowing compensating thermal effects on analog performance; a programmable gain x1, x10, x40 and x200 giving more flexibility to measure differential voltages for current monitoring.

A high-speed timer with three PWM channels with complementary outputs and programmable dead-times allows 8-bit resolution PWM with an industry-best frequency of 500 kHz, up to 11-bit resolution PWM with a frequency over 60 kHz.

A hardware flow control on the USART eases the connection to other devices when bridging with USB at high baud rates. Digital inputs with TTL thresholds ease interface with 3V devices in mixed 5/3V applications. An On-chip 3.3V regulator can deliver up to 50 mA and supply external devices in USB powered applications. Jitter and accuracy of the On-Chip 8 MHz calibrated RC oscillator can support serial communication without crystal. All devices include a hardware multiplier, one USART, one SPI, one TWI, two 8-bit and two 16-bit timers with PWM and 26 programmable I/Os.

ATmega16U4 features 16 Kbytes of In-System Programmable (ISP) Flash, 1 Kbytes of RAM and 512 bytes of EEPROM. ATmega32U4 features 32 Kbytes of In-System Programmable (ISP) Flash, 2.5 Kbytes of RAM and 1 Kbytes of EEPROM. They are available in 44-pin packages.

"The new microcontrollers complement the existing family of AVR USB microcontrollers serving a variety of embedded host or peripheral USB applications," said Jean-Christophe Lawson, Atmel's AVR Product Marketing Manager.

"Smaller foot print and enhanced analog performance was requested for several USB-based applications and we are pleased to introduce a new combination of features that will optimize the performance and cost of the customer's applications."

An extensive software library is offered to support the most-relevant USB classes for the embedded market: Mass Storage Device (MSD), Human Interface Device (HID), Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU), Communication Device Class (CDC), Audio Class, etc. Examples of composite devices actually combine several classes in one device, for instance Audio and HID can be combined to make a headset with remote control, toys, etc.

The parts are supported by the latest release of AVR Studio(R) which is available from the Atmel website. Both JTAGICE MkII at $299 and AVR Dragon at $49 allow in-system programming and emulation through On-Chip Debug resources (OCD). The STK(R)600-TQFP44 includes a dedicated adapter board so these specific devices can connect on the generic STK600 Starter Kit. By June 2008, this will be complemented by the EVK527 a standalone evaluation kit allowing the evaluation of HID, mass storage, audio and battery charging applications.

Availability and Pricing ATmega32U4 engineering samples are available now and both devices will be shipping in volume in Q2 2008. ATmega32U4 is offered in TQFP44 and QFN/MLF44 packages at $2.65 in quantities of 10k units and ATmega16U4 is offered in a QFN44 package at $2.40 in quantities of 10k units.

About Atmel

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets.

(C) 2008 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel(R), logo and combinations thereof, AVR(R), AVR Studio(R), STK(R) and others, are registered trademarks, or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

Information: For further information on AVR, go to http:/ www.atmel.com/avr.

Press Contacts: Philippe Faure, Marketing Communications Director - Microcontrollers Tel: +33 2 40 18 18 87, Email: philippe.faure@atmel.com Helen Perlegos, Public Relations Tel: (+1) 408 487-2963, Email: hperlegos@atmel.com

SOURCE Atmel Corporation
CONTACT: Philippe Faure, Marketing Communications Director, Microcontrollers, +33 2 40 18 18 87, philippe.faure@atmel.com, or Helen Perlegos, Public Relations, +1-408-487-2963, hperlegos@atmel.com, both of Atmel Corporation

Web site: http://www.atmel.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Cowen Group to acquire Latitude Capital Group

New York and Hong Kong (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - The Cowen Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: COWN) announced today that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Latitude Capital Group, a boutique investment bank headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in mainland China.

The proposed business combination, which has been approved by both companies' boards of directors, will significantly enhance Cowen's activities in Asia and provide a platform for future growth of its sector-focused investment banking strategy across the region.

Subject to customary closing conditions and Hong Kong SFC approval, the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008.

Latitude will be renamed Cowen Latitude Asia upon the closing of the transaction. Frank K. Au, currently President of Latitude, will become Chief Executive Officer of Cowen Latitude Asia and will join Cowen's investment banking operating committee.

The acquisition of Latitude provides a number of benefits and opportunities for Cowen, including:
- The addition of a highly qualified team of professionals located in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, providing Cowen with an immediate leading capability in the highest growth markets in Asia;
- Access to an impressive roster of clients and relationships in Asia that matches well with Cowen's global growth industry focus;
- Strong relationships with multinational clients actively seeking acquisitions in China, and a combined ability to expand this cross-border buyside advisory practice;
- The combined ability to deliver a comprehensive range of financing and advisory solutions to growth company, venture capital and private equity clients in Asia.

"We have worked with the professionals at Latitude in the past and feel fortunate that they have agreed to join Cowen," said Greg Malcolm, Chief Executive Officer and President of Cowen.

Mr. Malcolm further noted that "Asia, and in particular China, is a critical market for both our corporate and investor clients and we expect that the region will become more important over the coming years.

The acquisition of Latitude gives us the platform to deliver unique access and insights to our clients and we are confident that we can help the Latitude team materially expand their business."

Frank K. Au, President of Latitude, said: "In addition to our traditional M&A advisory and private placement services, Latitude will now be able to provide significant capital markets capabilities to our clients.

"Latitude will leverage Cowen's leadership position in IPOs, Convertibles, PIPEs, registered direct offerings and registered follow-on offerings to bring a much broader suite of solutions to our clients in Asia.

"In addition, we will also be able to take advantage of Cowen's global industry and transaction expertise in sectors such as Alternative Energy, Consumer, Healthcare and Technology to bring a greater level of value-add and insight to our clients."

Before co-founding Latitude, Mr. Au was the Head of Media investment banking in Greater China for Lehman Brothers Asia.

Mr. Au has extensive investment banking experience across all areas of corporate finance including equity and debt capital raising, as well as mergers and acquisition advisory having worked in both Lehman's New York and Hong Kong offices in the Technology, Telecom and Industrial/LBO Groups.

About Cowen Group, Inc.

Cowen Group, Inc., through Cowen and Company, LLC and Cowen International Limited, provides investment banking services, including underwriting and other capital raising solutions, equity research, sales, trading and mergers and acquisitions advice, to emerging growth companies in sectors including healthcare, technology, media and telecommunications, aerospace and defense, consumer and alternative energy.

About Latitude Capital Group

Latitude Capital Group is an Asian investment banking firm, specializing in China cross-border M&A and private placements. The firm mainly focuses on: (i) serving growth companies in the technology, general industries and healthcare sectors in China; (ii) multinationals and international listed corporates lookingto enter China in Latitude's core industry sectors; (iii) international corporates seeking an Asian/China strategic buyer investor in their business; and (iv) advising Asian corporates looking to grow internationally via acquisition. Latitude Capital Group is headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Beijing and Shanghai.

Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding the expected closing date are "forward-looking" information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, primarily that the closing conditions for the offering will not be satisfied. The Company assumes no
obligation to update the information in this press release.

SOURCE: Cowen Group, Inc.
CONTACT: Jean Calleja of Cowen Group, Inc. Communications,
+1-646-562-1888, Jean.calleja@cowen.com
Web site: http://www.cowen.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS