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Moneymakers

Now Americans can windowshop to glory without stepping out of their homes. Shopping Network (HSN) and America Online Inc (AOL), the 2 front-runners in the television retailing and computer-networking industry, are gearing up to sell goods in cyberspace.

The HSN has bought the Internet Shopping Network and the AOL Inc has made a grand entry by setting up new divisions exclusively for advertising and shopping. It's Definitely going to be a new breed of advertising and shopping" said Guy Haskin of NetMarket an on-line firm, adding that it "allows advertisers to include more information for the customers than in a magazine, billboard or television."

The Tokyo-based Sanyo Electric Co has come out with a unique compact liquid-crystal display. Now, 3-D video and graphic images can be viewed with naked eyes. This will be used in computers, game machines, simulation systems educational tools, medical devices and television sets. The 3-D display can also view 2-dimensional images by the flick of a switch. Consumer products using the display are likely to be launched in 1997.

The defence contractor firm, Harris Corp of Melbourne, is helping Fla,a Californian firm,to take action against kidnappers. The 2 companies are jointly developing a beeper system that warns parents when a child strays more than 5 metres. Similar products, which measure radiowave signal strength, have been plagued with false alarms, caused by interference from walls and store security systems. But the new system sends 2 signals: one identifies the child and the frequency of the other drops sharply beyond 5 metres. The unit must receive both the signals or an alarm goes off.

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