Neowin.net

Microsoft Japan will soon be offering consumers a chance to purchase two limited edition Xbox consoles. The company plans to roll out a commemorative edition of the system called Xbox Pure White Limited to celebrate the system's two year anniversary in the region.

The system will have a limited manufacturing run of 1,000 units and will give gamers the option of engraving up to twenty letters on the front of the system. The White system will ship in early February, will retail for 19,800 yen and will only be available for purchase online. The system will comes with a matching controller a DVD kit, and Xbox Live starter kit.

The second system, Xbox Kasumi-chan Blue, is scheduled for a March 25th release and will be bundled with Tecmo's Dead or Alive Online. 5,000 units of this system will be available and will be bundled with Tecmo's game for a retail price of 22,800 yen. Extras with this system include a seat cushion featuring the image of Kasumi, a matching controller a DVD kit, and Xbox Live starter kit.

View: Pure White (Japanese) | Kamsumi-chan Blue (Japanese)
News source: GameSpyDaily

Big gender gap in Italy

The findings are derived from surveys of Internet and non-Internet users in 14 countries: the United States, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Macao, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Chile.

The study does however support some long-established Internet usage trends including the fact that the wealthiest segments of the population are the most avid users and that more men than women surf the Web. But figures vary widely by country.

For example, the gender gap is most pronounced in Italy and smallest in Taiwan. According to the study, 41.7 percent of Italian men are online compared to 21.5 percent of Italian women. In Taiwan, the difference is 25.1 percent for men and 23.5 percent for women.

The digital divide, a phrase used to describe how poverty impacts Web usage, appears to be tightening around the world, Cole said.

In seven of the 12 countries for which the information was available, more than 20 percent of the poorest segment of the population uses the Internet. Sweden, Korea and the U.S. have the highest usage of Internet users among the poor.

Skeptical Swedes

The credibility of information published on the Internet also received a surprising boost.

Despite the existence of countless spoof Web sites and message boards that carry oddball political rants, more than half of Internet users surveyed said "most or all" of the information they find online is reliable and credible.

The most trusting users are in South Korea while Swedes are the biggest skeptics about the veracity of Web news.

The Chinese, meanwhile, are among the most active Net socializers. According to the study, Chinese Internet users say they rely on the medium to interact with others who share their political interests, hobbies and faith.

"It's more than in any other country and a significant figure for citizens of a nation in which religion is officially banned," the study said of Chinese users' willingness to discuss religion online with others.