The contest was held to select an affordably priced third-generation (3G) mobile-phone model to serve as part of the association's plan to promote a wider base of 3G phone users.

Education boost

GM and Chevrolet have added another benefactor to their list of organisations supporting Thai education.

The Thai Automotive Journalists' Association (TAJA) was awarded Bt100,000 by the auto-makers to develop its educational activities.

The TAJA fund will be used to support various educational programmes to benefit its members, such as foreign-language training and scholarships for family members to further their studies.

The programme has been a long-standing initiative by GM and Chevrolet since they first developed this focus under the programme "Chevrolet Develops Thai Education", which was launched in 2004 to provide scholarships to students and set up a number of primary school libraries nationwide.

Orbit decision

Australian telecom operator Optus has chosen Arianespace to orbit its D3 satellite.

Optus D3 will be orbited by an Ariane or Soyuz launcher in 2009 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

This contract reflects Arianespace's successful strategy of offering launch service and solutions tailored to operators' needs.

Optus D3 is the 285th contract signed by Arianespace since its founding in March 1980. It currently has a backlog of 41 satellites to be launched.

Berli's target

Berli Jucker Foods has set a Bt40-million marketing budget to promote its new potato chip, Testo Honey Mustard.

The company plans to boost its market share from 25 per cent last year to 35 per cent this year.

Marketing director Surat Phubangkedphol said Berli would promote its new product through television commercials and event marketing.

"We believe our new flavour will drive our market share from 25 per cent to 35 per cent," he said.