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Los Angeles: As Google and Microsoft battle for dominance in technology, a skirmish in Los Angeles City Hall is offering a rare public glimpse into a rivalry that could help determine the fortunes of both companies - and, quite possibly, how workers in the future will communicate. The two tech giants are clashing over a $7.25 million (Dh26.6 million) contract to replace Los Angeles' outdated e-mail system. The stakes are high enough that both companies have fielded teams of lobbyists and executives to press their case in City Hall. City officials have also been told that Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and Google CEO Eric Schmidt "would be more than happy to come and visit with you," said City Councilman Tony Cardenas, who chairs the council's information and technology committee. Google is widely believed to have the most to gain from a victory, as it seeks to challenge Microsoft's dominance in office e-mail and document software. "It would be a flag

Dubai: At 3pm on Sunday, it is your chance to be front row at one of Milan's hottest tickets: the Dolce & Gabbana spring-summer 2010 runway show. The Italian designers are taking their inventive fashion spirit into the digital age as they broadcast their show – which will be attended by this season's fashion circuit stars Peaches Geldof and Alice Dellall, among others – live on the internet. Other videos, posted on Dolce & Gabbana's Youtube channel, open previously unseen window on the work of designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and their style team in the days prior to their catwalk show.

Dubai: BMW Oracle Racing put behind a disappointing two days of match racing to shoot to the top of the standings ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis and Pieter Heerema's No Way Back after Thursday's fleet racing in the Bank Sarasin RC 44 Portoroz Cup. Four fleet regattas took place on Thursday with a southerly breeze ranging from eight to 15 knots with BMW Oracle Racing having an excellent day after their disappointing match race. With Ian Vickers at the helm and Coutts calling the shots, the American team started the day with two bullets and finished it with two premature starts. Thanks to a great comeback in race four, BMW Oracle Racing now leads the provisional ranking ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis and Pieter Heerema's No Way Back. Sport Sailing BMW Oracle races to the top By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter Published: October 02, 2009, 22:49 Dubai: BMW Oracle Racing put behind a disappointing two days of match racing to shoot to the top of the standin

Copenhagen: Rio de Janeiro became the first South American city to win the rights for hosting the 2016 Olympics. Rio de Janeiro, represented in Copenhagen by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva , delivered a passionate appeal for South America to be awarded the Olympics for the first time. Gallery: 2016 Summer Olympics Earlier, Chicago was ousted - in one of the most shocking defeats ever handed down by the International Olympic Committee. President Barack Obama's appeals for his adopted home town fell on deaf ears Friday. Tokyo was knocked out in the second round, surviving one round longer than Chicago. Sport Olympic « Previous 1 of 2 Next » AP People celebrate at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro after the city was chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Rio de Janeiro to host 2016 Olympics AP Last updated: October 02, 2009, 21:02 Copenhagen: Rio de Janeiro became the first South American city to win the rights for hosting the 2016 Olympics. Rio de Janeiro, represented in Co

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (Adihex) being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) is in full swing. Preservation and conservation of the cultural heritage of the UAE are being highlighted at the show, which aims to showcase traditional sports, such as falconry and hunting. Gallery: Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2009 The exhibition is hosting approximately 573 exhibitors from 37 countries, including camel and horse auctions, Saluki beauty contests, art competitions and traditional hunting activities. The exhibition is hosting approximately 573 exhibitors from 37 countries, including camel and horse auctions, Saluki beauty contests, art competitions and traditional hunting activities. Abu Dhabi's Police marching band performed in the main ring, while the Household Cavalry of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth made the trip to the UAE, performing its musical ride for the first time in the Emirates. A t

The Middle East is a booming market for the maturing video game industry thanks to better distribution and anti-piracy measures, according to David Reeves, a former president and CEO of Sony Europe. According to Reeves, who retired from Sony this year and now works as a consultant in the video game industry, piracy was rife in the region even a few years ago, with most game titles for early consoles, such as Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation and the Nintendo Game Cube, being easy to copy. But today, the Middle East presents about 11 per cent of the total console market for the PAL region, which includes most of Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. In 1995, the area presented only 0.1 percent of the total PAL region. Reeves, who was in Dubai this week for Games09, a regional industry conference, said he estimates the global video game market to be worth about $40 to $45 billion. Regionally, the market is worth between $600 million and $1 billion. Household penetration the

Helsinki: Nokia, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, is beefing up its design teams with executives from Apple Inc. and Dopplr as it seeks to make its handsets more user friendly. Faced with competition from Apple's iPhones and other smart-phone models, the Espoo, Finland-based company is forming new design teams under former Apple executive John Martin and Dopplr Chief Executive Officer Marko Ahtisaari. The executives will join Nokia in October. Nokia's N97 and Ovi Store suffered in early reviews against Apple's iPhone and App Store combination. Nokia is rolling out a new line of more computer-like handsets using its Linux-based Maemo platform while updating the Symbian platform used in its main products. It announced the creation in August of a solutions unit to better integrate devices. "The charter of the solutions unit is to make sure we decide up front how to mould services and devices in order for the combination to be perfect, and not do it afterwar

Google this week began inviting people to test out its new online platform, called Wave (wave.google.com) The new site mixes together elements of online communication, such as social networking and email, with collaborative editing, similar to what is found on sites such as Wikipedia. The company said it has sent invites to about 100,000 developers and corporate user on Sept. 30. Journalists, including some in the Middle East, also received invites. The site so far has limited functionality, but Google has said, both on its official blog and on the wave.google.com site itself, that the site is still in development, so a number of features are still unavailable and the performance will vary. Given the number of people who received invites and their limited ability to invite more, the social networking side of Wave has yet to be developed. Users must be invited and join the service before they can particle in a "Wave". While users who received invites to test Wave have been all

Abu Dhabi: The National Bank of Umm Al Quwain said in a statement on the Abu Dhabi bourse website on Thursday its net exposure to two debt-laden Saudi groups Saad and Algosaibi amounted to $12.5 million (Dh46 million) and it had already taken more provisions than the Central Bank required. NBQ said it made provisions for about 60 per cent of its exposure, which is above the UAE Central Bank requirement. The next bank to reveal its exposure was Union National Bank which also said on Thursday it had no exposure to the troubled Saad Group, but its total exposure to Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Bros reached $60.5 million (Dh222 million). The exposure to Algosaibi is in the form of a joint loan of $20.8 million and trust receipts amounting to $39.7 million, the company said.

Following sharp price drops in the first quarters of 2009, the situation in the hospitality industry in the UAE is about to improve as hoteliers have adjusted to the economic situation. With more promotions, bookings have gone up recently, and the region is witnessing a recovery in the sector. Gulf News spoke to Walter La Faro, Director of Market Management for Middle East and Indian Ocean region of the online booking company Hotels.com. WALTER LO FARO: We has seen a substantial increase in bookings to the UAE during the past 12 months. The increased number of hotels, lower rates and the lower air fares have certainly helped this trend, making the UAE accessible to a wider range of travellers than in the past. An increasing number of travellers have turned to online bookings both for convenience and to find the most updated rates and promotions. For how long can it be healthy for Dubai hotels to drop prices to boost occupancy? Price dynamics typically reflect demand trends, and this is