Palm gambles on Macau

Going to the 2005 East Asian Games in October? You can now bring along your Palm Treo 650 smartphone.

That's because Palm announced this week that it has tested and certified its multi-function handheld with CTM, one of the largest telecom service providers in the host city of Macau. CTM runs a GSM/GPRS network there.

Ticket sales for the 2005 East Asian Games went on sale today. Some 15,817 seats are available in the Opening Ceremony, and 6,808 seats in the Closing Ceremony.

Athletes participate in several events like swimming, basketball, bowling, boxing, football, gymnastics, handball, judo, soft tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu (martial arts).

Located in the South China sea on three connected islands, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East and supports a pretty well-to-do economy. Macau used to be known for its textile industry but in 2002, the region saw a surge in visitors from China and a hike in taxes on gambling profits, which generated about 70 percent of government revenue.

The three companies awarded gambling licenses have pledged to invest $2.2 billion in the territory, which will boost GDP growth.