Congress passes new bill to curb online gaming
The U.S. Congress has approved a new legislation that will restrict most forms of online gaming. The U.S. legislation, part of a port securities bill passed by the House and Senate on Saturday, prohibits the use of credit cards, cheques and electronic fund transfers for online gaming.

Following the ruling shares of several Canada-based online gaming companies fell. Shares of leading software company Cryptologic Inc. fell $4.58, or more than 19 per cent, to $20.05 in midafternoon trading. Other Canadian companies affected by the new leglislation are Vancouver-based Chartwell Technology Inc whose shares fell 40 cents or 18 per cent to $1.75; software firm Las Vegas From Home.com, whose shares slipped one-third to 10 cents; and Internet Bingo firm Parlay Entertainment Inc., whose shares lost 11 cents or 9.5 per cent to $1.05 in over-the-counter trading.

The new legislation comes even after years of lobbying by both conservative U.S. politicians and by casino owners in the powerful gaming industry.

Casino owners have been worried about the steady growth of the online gambling industry, which may cut into their business. In all, the global online gambling market is expected to generate $23 billion (U.S.) in revenue by 2009, compared with about $8.4 billion in 2004, according to a recent analyst report.
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Now screaming mobiles are here
London: Now mobile phones will let out a piercing electronic scream if stolen and will automatically blocks access to sensitive data. Such a service was launched in Britain on Monday. (See:Mobile phones: An unreliable sidekick)

The product, called Remote XT after the company that created it, is designed for application on smart handsets. It is primarily targeted at the high-end of the market, typically business-users who may hold confidential data, such as emails, on their phones.

The company says the launch of the phones will kill the market for stolen handsets. The Remote XT security package costs subscribers £9.99 a month. The service sends out a signal to the phone as soon as it is reported stolen. All the phone's data — like contact numbers, emails or images -is wiped and an ear piercing alarm also sounds.

Until now network providers were able to disable stolen phones from being used but could not necessarily prevent data from being accessed.
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More autos to sell in China than in US
Beijing: China's automobile sales are expected to touch nearly seven million units this year, comprising one-tenth of the world's total. With this auto sales in China are seen to have the potential to surpass the US as the world's top auto market by 2020, analysts said. The sales figure is expected to climb to 10 million by 2010, and 20 million in 2020 according to a forecast of the State Information Centre.

China will overtake Japan this year to become the world's second largest automobile seller. The Centre predicted that more middle-income Chinese families could afford a car in the coming years due to rising income and falling car prices.
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