Swedes at ChristmasThis survey from TeliaSonera has a couple of

Swedes at Christmas

This survey from TeliaSonera has a couple of factoids of note: a) 78% of its Swedish broadband customers interviewed said they could use a webcam on Christmas Eve to communicate with distant family members; b) webcams apparently rank second only to the PSTN as a preferred means of communications with friends and family. I don't know how representative Sweden is given some of its peculiar cultural traits around Christmas celebrations, but I'd like to think this maps pretty well across a lot of Europe.

james.enck@dir.co.uk (James Enck)

Reality of HK's 'one country, two systems'
The intervention of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in the sale of PCCW to foreign bidders represents Beijing's boldest intervention in the territory's supposedly sancrosanct commercial affairs since the 1997 handover.