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The Office of the Telecommunications Authority of Hong Kong (OFTA) Monday published for the first time the statistics of local mobile data usage.

The usage sees a surge to 147 Terabytes (i.e. 147,000 Gigabytes) as of January 2009, or an average amount of 44 Mbytes per 2.5G/3G mobile user.

This represents four times and 14 times the mobile data usage over the same period in 2008 and 2007 respectively.

A spokesman for OFTA said, “We are pleased to see the remarkable growth of mobile data usage, which indicates that members of the public are increasingly used to deploy the mobile service for transmission and reception of mobile data. This is consistent with the trend observed in other advanced economies and demonstrates that Hong Kong has matured as a leading wireless city in the region.”

“With the growing importance of mobile broadband service for people in Hong Kong, OFTA has released the monthly mobile data statistics for public consumption with a view to further promoting the service,” he added.

Apart from mobile data usage, the number of 2.5G/3G mobile phone users has increased by 15 percent on a year-on-year basis reaching 3.35 million in January 2009. The total number of mobile phone users is 11.43 million and this represents a penetration rate of more than 163 percent.

Leading multilateral development banks announced Wednesday that they will provide some 90 billion U.S. dollars to Latin America and the Caribbean during the next two years in a joint effort to spur economic growth in the region.

The Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB/IIC) is expected to provide 29.5 billion dollars of the total while the World Bank Group plans to provide 35.6 billion dollars over the next two years.

In addition, Corporacion Andina de Fomento plans to provide 20 billion dollars while the Caribbean Development Bank and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration are expected to provide 500 million dollars and 4.2 billion dollars respectively.

“Latin America and the Caribbean have achieved substantial economic and social progress over the last five years and we must ensure that this is not lost because of the external shock of the global crisis. We need to avoid a social and human crisis,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.

“I welcome the close cooperation among the multilateral regional banks and the World Bank Group, and I am committed to making this common platform work as we help lay the foundations for an economic recovery,” he added.

Support from the IDB may increase further as the Bank is currently working on measures that may boost lending in the short run.

The IDB has also started a process to review its capital to ensure adequate capacity to finance long-term development needs, under a resolution approved by its Governors in the Annual meeting at the end of March in Medellin, Colombia.

“The IDB is working with its multilateral partners to make a collective response and is committing a significant portion of its existing lending capacity to combat the crisis,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno. “In order to continue to support the region in its ongoing financing needs, the IDB will be seeking additional capital resources.”

Latin America and the Caribbean region is suffering the impact of the global economic downturn. According to the World Bank, Latin America managed to lift 52 million people out of poverty from 2002-2007 but the trend may reverse and it is important to protect the region’s social gains.

Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said on Monday that four new deaths from the A/H1N1flu have been confirmed, bringing the death toll to 26, with 727 total cases reported and 2,164 samples tested.

Cordova said that the disease had a comparatively low R0 number, which means it is not much more contagious than normal seasonal flu.

“Mexico has calculated the R0 at 1.4, varying between 1.3 and 1.8,” Cordova said. “With seasonal influenza this index is a little lower. It is 1.3,” he said.

The higher the R0 number, the faster a disease spreads. A R0 of one means that each infected person infects one other, if R0 falls below one, the disease will die out of its own accord.

“The studies which we have, based on the tests which are being confirmed and ruled out, have shown epidemiologists that the trend is lower, towards a decline in cases,” said Cordova. However, he added that the government has not yet decided if it will allow schools to reopen, because of worries that this might cause a spike in transmission.

“In the case of Spanish flu, at the start of the 20th century, the second peak came around three month later, 100 days later,” he said.

He added that 17 of the 26 people who died of confirmed H1N1 flu virus, or around 65 percent, were between 21 and 40, usually the group that is most resistant to diseases.

People of this age group “tend to take something to get rid of their symptoms so they can stay active because … they are very active all the time. So they don’t go to the doctor and when they do they are already at a much later stage,” said Cordova.

The World Health Organization said that there are around 1,089 cases of the H1N1 flu virus world wide, spreading across 21 nations. Mexico is the worst hit, followed by the United States with 286, and then Canada with 101 cases. Only one death has occurred outside Mexico, of a Mexican child in the United States.

While Qianmen’s pedestrian street has yet to reach its full commercial potential, one thing it has in spades is laozihao, or time-honored brands.

One of the culinary anchors of Qianmen is the hard-to-miss Du Yi Chu. As the legend recounts, Emperor Qianlong and his attendants were returning from the countryside and couldn’t find anywhere to eat except for a small, nameless courtyard. The Emperor enjoyed the food and the company of the owner so much that the next day he sent a sign board to the restaurant owner that said “Du Yi Chu”, or “the only restaurant in the capital”. Although the location has changed over the years, the horde of locals queuing up for a taste of Du Yi Chu’s famous shaomai remains a constant. We sampled three baskets of their “beggars purse” shaped shaomai—pork, shrimp-egg-leek and chicken (RMB18-30). Our shaomai were plump and succulent. Originally, we thought they were undercooked, but we soon discovered that every shaomai is served with a slightly chewy skin. The pan-fried pork balls also came highly recommended—slightly crunchy on the outside, meaty on the inside and draped in a sweet, savory sauce for a tangy alternative to the traditional shaomai. The homely entryway and unexpectedly modern second floor gives guests a choice of atmosphere in which to enjoy this Qianmen mainstay.

Of course, when waxing poetic about the greatness of street food, Goubuli, is the undisputed king. The Qianmen location is off of the main walk area—take the hutong across from Du Yi Chu and walk about 200m until you see a statue of Empress Dowager Cixi enjoying their famous baozi. Going out of your way to eat street food may seem like a bit of a pilgrimage, but Goubuli’s reputation as a purveyor of exceptional baozi is well-deserved. The baozi here are juicy but not too greasy, and they’re fatter and the skin is thicker and fluffier than the standard corner fare. Though some complain that the price, RMB36 per basket, is highway robbery, I’d like to think that I get to taste a bit of history for the premium price.

Next time you’re cruising down to H&M or the recently-opened Zara, make time for lunch at one of these two famous Qianmen landmarks.

The number of foreign visitors to China fell significantly in the first 10 months of the year, and the trend is set to continue next year, a senior tourism official said on Tuesday.

Speaking at an industry conference in Beijing, Shao Qiwei, head of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), said the number of foreign tourists staying overnight in China between January and October - a useful measure of inbound tourism - was down 1.9 percent on the same period of last year.

The trend was even more evident among the country’s major foreign tourist markets, he said.

In the same 10-month period, the number of South Koreans visiting China fell 24 percent year on year, while Japanese tourist numbers were down 16 percent, he said.

In contrast, the domestic market remains strong, and the outbound sector achieved double-digit growth in the first 10 months, up 14 percent year on year, Shao said.

“Foreign visitor arrivals are sure to decline next year as a result of the global economic slowdown, so we must focus our efforts on stimulating domestic demand,” he said.

Several cities have already announced plans to boost their spending on tourism, including Chongqing, which recently unveiled a 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) investment package, he said.

Zhang Huiguang, head of the Beijing municipal tourism bureau, said on Tuesday that officials will today present 83 projects, valued at 78 billion yuan, to potential investors.

Ding Xiangyang, deputy mayor of Beijing, said authorities want to increase the city’s tourism revenue to 400 billion yuan a year by 2012, partly by promoting it as a premium destination for conventions and exhibitions.

“Although the government will not directly fund the projects, it will provide favorable policies to investors and enable the projects to start as soon as possible,” she said.

Shao said additional funds were also required to improve facilities for tourists looking for more leisurely, long-stay holidays.

“Of the country’s 20,000 scenic spots, less than 5 percent are suitable for leisure tours,” he said.

Demand for this type of holiday is increasing rapidly, but many coastal cities have not made good use of their natural resources, he said.

The CNTA will also continue to promote the paid holiday system in China, in a bid to boost tourism, he said.

Babies Zuma Nesta Rock and Bronx Mowgli, you’re in the minority. Most parents abandoned unusual names for their children, opting instead for traditional names, according to a US survey.

The top boy’s name for the year remained Aiden, followed by Jayden, Ethan and Jacob with classic names like Matthew, Jack, Michael, Alexander, Daniel and William all featuring in a list of the top 50 most popular names.

The list, compiled from thousands of baby name entries on the specialist baby website Babycenter.com, found that Emma replaced Sophia as the top girl’s name followed by Isabella and Olivia with Sarah, Elizabeth and Anna also popular.

With the United States consumed by politics all year, presidential names also made a return, such as Madison, Taylor, Kennedy for girls and Jackson and Tyler for boys.

Linda Murray, editor-in-chief of babycenter.com, said there was a clear trend for people to choose more serious, old fashioned, classic names, reflecting the tougher times.

“Times have changed and people are taking the world more seriously, affected by what is going on the world,” said Murray.

“Even before the economic crisis we’ve had high gas and food prices all year and people have struggled. Our nation is at war. We have conflict in the world. It is a serious time in American life and it is affecting decisions about naming children.”

When parents were asked in the online survey what they wanted a name to represent, the most important qualities for boys were strength, kindness and compassion compared to strength and individuality last year.

For girls it was kindness, compassion, intelligence and strength compared to femininity and individuality last year.

Marla Butler, from Santa Monica in California, chose the name Joshua for her son who was born in July, a brother to two-year-old sister Folbe who took her maiden name as an adventurous first name.

“This time around I wanted a strong, traditional name that was more in keeping with my Jewish tradition,” she told Reuters.

“I think it is nostalgia. We want to hold onto our past and keep our memories going and feel comforted. It is a time to turn inwards and going back to the old names is part of that.”

But not everyone agreed. Some celebrities still give their children unusual names.

Singers Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz named their baby Bronx Mowgli, Australian actress Nicole Kidman and country singer Keith Urban opted for Sunday Rose, while No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani and musician husband Gavin Rossdale opted for Zuma Nesta Rock.

Actress Halle Berry named her daughter Nahla Ariela.

“Celebrities fall into a category of their own. They’re creative as a group and like being one of a kind and are less concerned than the general public about setting their kids up for success in the future as they are financial secure,” said Murrray.

“But it just shows that even place names have gone downmarket a bit. No more Paris and Brooklyn. We’ve gone down to the Bronx.”

Taking a page from Nintendo’s Wii gaming console, Lenovo on Monday announced an all-in-one PC with a remote control that doubles as a motion-based gaming controller.

Like the iMac, the all-in-one IdeaCentre A600 combines a monitor and CPU in a thin system. It will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show from January 8 to 11 in Las Vegas.

Its wireless remote control is similar to Nintendo Wii’s Wii Remote, which allows users to interact with a video game by waving or pointing the game controller. Using motion-sensing technology, the Wii Remote becomes a racket when swinging during a tennis game, or a weapon when playing a fighting game.

Lenovo’s gadget mimics the Wii’s approach.

“We have an example of a bowling game [where] you can wave the remote and that actually controls your game,” said Ninis Samuel, director of marketing strategy and programs.

The company is bundling some motion-based games with the PC to use with the remote-based gaming controller. Titles of the games weren’t immediately available.

Lenovo is trying to capitalize on the trend of entertainment options merging into the PC. Few are able to play motion-based games, which could make this motion-based game controller a pioneer.

In addition to controlling TV functions and video recordings on the PC, the remote control can also be used as an air mouse that moves the mouse pointer when waved. It has some advantages over a conventional mouse — it can function without being on a surface and be used at a distance — when sitting on a couch, for example.

If the air mouse wasn’t enough, the remote also works as a VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) handset. “If you have telephony software on your PC like Windows Live or Skype, you can use your remote to make those phone calls because it essentially can act as a phone,” Samuel said.

The IdeaCentre A600 starts at a price of US$999. The desktop has a 21.5-inch screen that supports 1920 by 1280-pixel resolution for high-definition video playback. It runs on Intel Pentium Dual Core or Core 2 Duo mobile processors, supports up to 4GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. It includes Wi-Fi wireless networking and runs on the Windows Vista OS.

Options include the remote control, Blu-ray DVD player, a TV tuner and a Advanced Micro Devices’ ATI graphics card. The desktop will be available worldwide by the beginning of March.

The desktop is part of a new portfolio of entertainment PCs that Lenovo plans to show at CES. The company is also rolling out a new laptop line, the IdeaPad Y series, which is targeted at mainstream users looking to create and view multimedia content. Lenovo has added features that can make watching movies an easier and enjoyable experience.

For example, the laptops have the “OneKey” feature, in which pressing one button “optimizes” the experience of watching movies by enhancing the sound and visuals, according to the company.

Another feature includes ambient light sensors that adjusts screen brightness based on the user’s surroundings. “[It] uses a sensor on the actual lid of the laptop that senses whether or not you are in a darker or lighter room. Then it adjusts the brightness and the graphics to your environment,” Samuel said. The feature is available only in the IdeaPad Y650 laptop, which has a 16-inch screen.

The IdeaPad Y series laptops come with screens ranging from 14 to 16 inches, run on Intel Core 2 Duo processors and include Windows Vista. The weight of the laptops ranges from 4.6 pounds (2.09 kilograms) to 6 pounds. The laptops will become available worldwide by the beginning of March, Lenovo said. Pricing was not immediately available.

Li Ning, a Chinese IT worker, was eager to buy a 3G iPhone directly from overseas. Five days after he clicked the payment button on his computer in his cozy Shanghai home, the Apple product arrived from the United States.

“It’s convenient and fast to buy high-quality foreign products online,” he said, adding the rising yuan makes it a good time to buy from abroad, especially from America. The iPhone costs him about $600, including purchasing agent fees, customs duty and shipping charges, but was still 300 yuan ($43.87) cheaper than a genuine 3G iPhone in China. And he didn’t have to spend hours scouring through clever knockoffs for a smuggled genuine iPhone in a Chinese cellphone market.

“I even tell my girl friend to buy her favorite Clinique cosmetics online,” he said.

Li Ning is just one of millions of Chinese shoppers spending billions of yuan internationally online. While governments across the world struggle to boost private spending amid a slowing economy, industry insiders believe online shopping in China will defy the downward trend.

“The advantages of online shopping such as low prices, wide options, appeal to fashion-conscious young people and the strength of the yuan have combined to make it a profitable business despite the current economic stagnation,” said Alamusi, associate director of the policy and law committee of China E-business.

Chinese consumers display considerable zeal on the web for foreign products, flouting the country’s traditional culture of squirreling away savings. Taobao (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online auction site, has seen the transaction volume of its global shopping channel rise at a three-digit rate each year since the channel launched in 2006. The average daily amount spent on the channel last month was 10 million yuan, almost four times WalMart China’s average daily intake in 2006.

American purchases rank fourth on the global shopping channel by volume, but rank first in amount spent per deal.

“Our exploration of the American market lags behind our exploration of Europe and East Asia, but we can’t neglect the huge opportunities the America retail market could yield,” said Zhang Yingxing, head of Alipay’s overseas business department.

Taobao’s rapid success compelled, a Chinese version of e-commerce payment transfer giant PayPal, to introduce a new service enabling overseas retailers to sell products directly to mainland consumers in 2007.

So far the average monthly amount spent on international products on Alipay is 8 million yuan. “It is a small number compared to Taobao but we can catch them,” said Zhang.

Chinese online shoppers’ habit of trusting a third-party for payment transfer instead of paying by credit card online will quickly popularize Alipay, the largest such domestic company dealing with international merchants, he said.

Alipay’s new service is already growing at a brisk clip. It has 250 partner retailers based in Hong Kong, East Asia, Japan, Europe and America, just 18 months after launching, supplying everything from cosmetics, clothing and jewelry to household appliances and digital gadgets. Its membership leaped from 90 million in September 2008 to 120 million at the end of the year, after it increased cooperation with some key American retailers.

Zhao Xudong, CEO of the American retailer Yueyang (www.overseadeals.com), currently Alipay’s major US partner, is confident the business will continue to be robust. “We’ve had steady growth in visiting volume and monthly turnover since the website became technically functional at the beginning of 2008,” said Zhao.

“Cosmetic products, brand name apparel, nutrition products and the latest electronics are the most popular purchases,” he said.

Most of Alipay’s American partner retailers are new and small, unlike other big Asian e-shopping sites, such as Japan’s J-shoppers, which partners with big American companies. But Alipay is trying to form a service partnership with several large US electronics businesses, said Zhang, declining to name the companies.

In a sign of just how the lucrative the market is, Visa, the world’s largest electronic retail payment network, promotes merchandise from 300,0000 American companies such as Amazon.com, Nordstrom and Old Navy, to its non-North American cardholders through OneNow.com, a newly launched online shopping site.

OneNow.com’s shipping partner, comGateway, operates an identical site, GlobalEshop.com with American Express. The sites help merchants reach millions of Asia-Pacific credit cardholders without upfront marketing costs.

Lu Ping, a female AliPay employee, said young, relatively affluent women are the site’s biggest user group, not yuppies.

Alipay’s female users are astute at banding together to place group orders, resulting in reduced shipping costs per pound, said Lu.

This is just the beginning of the boom for online business shopping services that bridge Chinese consumers and international retailers, according to industry insiders.

Taobao.com said online shopping accounts for just 0.64 percent of all retail sales in China right now, but will likely make up 5 to 8 percent by 2012.

The market potential is big; China has 253 million netizens, more than the US, as of June 2008 according to China Internet Network Information Center. E-shoppers in China spend 126.3 billion yuan a year and the total amount spent online increased 125 percent in 2008, according to a survey by Shanghai-based research agency iResearch Inc. The agency predicts Chinese e-shoppers could be spending 569 billion yuan a year by 2012.

“I believe our business model is heading in a good direction,” said Zhao, the American partner of Alipay. “We are determined to grow.”

A “live-in kitchen” is the new trend for future homes. Large or small, modern or traditional, today’s cooking spaces are aimed at becoming communal kitchens the whole family can enjoy.

Art and personal artworks are fast finding their way into these spaces, as well as computer workstations and extended seating areas.

Kitchen designs now concentrate on this area as the “hub” of the household, incorporating the functional aspects of a kitchen with the ability to relax.

“Don’t you think it is a warm picture? Parents cooking or checking e-mails, the TV is on, and the kids are doing their homework in the kitchen,” says Li Haitao, a Boloni designer in Beijing.

Newlyweds Yu Ming and Zhang De have such a home. The 20-sq-m kitchen/dining area feels more spacious than it is. Two wide, south-facing windows along the front wall offer views of the street and a small park. In the open kitchen, the long dining table is also used as desk, where Yu enjoys reading and her husband surfs the Internet.

“The kitchen, which is pleasing but not showy, is the new heart of my small home. In this space we cook, eat and entertain together,” Yu says.

As kitchens become central to the home, more display areas are added, putting in clear or artistic glass inserts into doors and gallery lighting inside cabinets to show off prized ceramics or hand-blown glass collections.

Additionally, fully integrated appliances, as opposed to semi-integrated, are now in fashion. Items such as the fridge, dishwasher and microwave oven are completely concealed within a cupboard providing a seamless finish.

Popular items now include drawer refrigerators, which can be installed under the kitchen counter to eliminate clutter and provide convenience. For instance, the GE double-drawer refrigerator has two drawers with adjustable dividers for modifying the storage space.

Under-the-counter wine storage is another trendy option, where dozens of bottles are stored and there is a refrigeration system with two individually controlled temperature zones. Wine storage units can be made flush with the cabinets, making the kitchen look clean and organized.

Although China Eastern Airlines has close cooperation with Shanghai Airlines, the two carriers haven’t discussed exchanging stakes in each other, China Eastern’s Chairman Liu Shaoyong said yesterday in Shanghai.

“The market is filled with anticipation of a merger between Shanghai Airlines and us, which is not a bad thing, but we haven’tdiscussed with them about swapping stakes. Our current cooperation focuses on sharing resources,” Liu said.

He made the remarks at yesterday’s shareholders’ meeting after he was appointed as the new chairman of the country’s third-largest carrier. Liu previously headed China Southern Airlines, the country’s largest carrier by fleet size, before taking up the new position.

“We hold an open attitude toward various types of investors, such as strategic investors and management companies, but the most urgent task for us is to become strong,” Liu said.

The carrier expects a significant decrease in losses this year, a slight profit next year and more profits in 2011, according to its three-year plan.

China Eastern said earlier that its fair-value losses on hedging deals totaled 6.2 billion yuan (US$906 million) as of December and warned that it will post a “significant” loss in last year’s earnings.

“The possibility of expanded hedging losses for this year is slim, and we may form a new group to manage the hedging business,” Liu said.

The parent of China Eastern has received a 7-billion-yuan cash injection from the Chinese government. The Shanghai-listed carrier will raise 5.56 billion yuan by issuing 1.4 billion yuan-denominated A shares to its parent and another 1.44 billion yuan by issuing H shares.

The proceeds of the two share issues will cut the company’s debt-to-asset ratio to 90.1 percent from 98.5 percent.

China’s aviation industry contributed to 4.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and in the past five years, the industry has paid more than 20 billion yuan of taxes and various fees to the country.

“We hope the country would inject more cash into the industry,” Liu said.

He said he still believed the future trend is “to set up a state-owned company to run the country’s three biggest carriers so that they compete with overseas rivals” but added that such a change wouldn’t happen in the short term.