The winner of a business plan contest in Second Life is a company that's likely to help others come up with business plans for Second Life.

The honors, announced Monday, went to Minnesota-based Market Truths, which devised a market research and analysis system to help real-world companies figure out what works and what doesn't in the burgeoning virtual world.

shoe matching

Forsberg meets with Snider; future still uncertain - NHL - Yahoo! Sports: "Forsberg had said he did not want to commit to a contract until he was closer to finding a skate that will accommodate his surgically repaired ankle. He traveled to Sweden during the All-Star break and, with his skate woes seemingly solved, has played well recently."

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Face op woman braves media glare

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Face op woman braves media glare: "'At the moment I can open my mouth and eat and use my lips and nose as well. However, I have to continue my exercises and take medication to exercise all my facial muscles.'"

The woman is trying to regain control over her facial features.

tags: control transplant interface

News in Science - Computer writes its own fairytale - 07/02/2007

News in Science - Computer writes its own fairytale - 07/02/2007: "A computer program that writes its own fiction with minimal human input has been developed by a Mexican researcher.

The program, called MEXICA, is the first to generate original stories based on computerised representations of emotions and tensions between characters.

'The program keeps a record of the emotional links between characters while developing a story, and employs its knowledge about emotions to retrieve from memory possible logical actions to continue the story,' says Dr Rafael P�rez y P�rez, the program's creator.
"


tags: script emotion entertainment profile

Who really won during the Super Bowl? | CNET News.com

Who really won during the Super Bowl? | CNET News.com: "FKF Applied Research, with the help of UCLA's Ahmanson Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, said that Coca-Cola's 'Video Game' ad--a 60-second animated spot that promotes random acts of kindness--scored this year because it elicited the most positive emotions in subjects' brains.

'Coke's ad did well because it engaged a full range of emotions, including the mirror region, which is associated with connection and empathy,' said Joshua Freedman, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at UCLA and co-founder of FKF Applied Research. 'Asking someone what is going on in their brain is in some ways like asking them what is going on in their heart.'"

tags: psychology advertisement research control emotion