TAMPERE, Finland — ScanBev, a Finland-based manufacturer, marketer and exporter of alcoholic beverages announced the selection of Columbus, Ohio-based Katz Marketing Solutions, a food and beverage marketing and brand consulting firm, to develop the U.S. brand and marketing strategy for their specialty alcoholic beverage.

AUSTIN, Texas — deverus, the leader in background screening technology, today announced a partnership with Omni Data Retrieval, a reliable source for nationwide criminal record researching. Omni’s services will enhance deverus’ already robust vendor network.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Many of today’s beauty pageants appear superficial and focus too much on outward appearance, but Danfranc Productions, a special event planning company, has been producing the Miss Teenage California Scholarship Pageant for 29 years with a focus on education. It promotes scholastic achievement, and a healthy lifestyle.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Everyone knows Century 21 Department Stores has “Fashion worth fighting for.” On August 2nd, Century 21 Department Store’s Manhattan location only will be extending its store hours and staying open until Midnight to give all their loyal customers a chance to shop for their favorite fashion – without the fight.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Carolyn Pollack, Lead designer and Vice President of Relios Jewelry, has been chosen as the anchor of QVC’s Designer Day event on August 1st, 2007. The much anticipated Designer Day features QVC’s most prestigious jewelry designers and their newest, most exciting designs in a single, all-day event.

BOONTON, N.J. — The worldwide market for presence-based telecommunication services, including Instant Messaging (IM) and Push-to-Talk (PTT), is expected to reach nearly $23 billion in 2007 as an ever increasing number of cellular and wireline carriers provide customized services predicated upon the availability of their end-users.

DENVER, Colo. — Hammerberg & Associates, Inc. recently acquired the domain name, GayCalifornia.com, for a price tag of $250,000. According to the purchaser and “technoprenuer,” Jeffery Hammerberg, it was a bargain. Hammerberg and Associates, a well-known Denver Brokerage, owns, and over the years, has developed dozens of domain names – many of which cater to the gay and lesbian communities.

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Axiom Cycles, Inc. sells aftermarket Harley Davidson and custom motorcycle parts and accessories. They recently announced new service offerings to include: additional performance tuning, engine rebuilding, and enhanced customer service and technical support.

COLUMN: Hail to Pragmatists Embracing Scientific & Spiritual Global Cooling Solutions Thanks to our Earth Hugs on 7.7.07 and 7/17, “the Earth temperature slightly lowered, and the oceans were re-energized, which will continue if we continue,” say many Saints / Holy Ones / Ascended Masters / Seers / Star Nations, depending on your faith, backed by our intuition.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — A piece of floss once used by Paris Hilton, smudged with pink lipstick and found in the trash outside Paris Hilton’s Hollywood home, sold Tuesday for an impressive $1,000 US to online Casino, GoldenPalace.com.

ALDIE, Va. — BumperDollars (www.bumperdollars.com), an internet firm, is offering $5.00 per month to vehicle owners for carrying a bumper sticker of their client. BumperDollars’ job is to network the vehicle owners willing to carry a bumper sticker and organizations looking to advertise with the bumper sticker.

BARRINGTON, Ill. — Joette Doran, a practicing attorney for twenty years, recently decided to tap her creative side by establishing Joette Markus, Inc. Her company now offers the highest quality Italian leather portfolios designed for professional women. Ms. Doran started the company after trying to find a stylish yet professional replacement for her well-worn leather writing portfolio.

IRVING, Texas — More than one million consumers in the United States may be impacted when cellular carriers are no longer required to provide Advanced Mobile Phone System service to more than 26 million alarm systems. Because of the potential impact to security systems that rely on AMPS technology, the National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association is urging consumers to contact their alarm company to ensure continued response to intrusion, fire and/or medical alert alarms.

PORTLAND, Maine — “Iraq decoded” (ISBN: 978-0-9794922-0-4, Fazeli Publishing), a book by Dr. Jabbar Fazeli is scheduled for release on August 10, 2007. “Iraq decoded” is an up-to-date, non-partisan overview of the facts surrounding events in Iraq, coupled with a unique analysis and realistic options for moving forward.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Eval D Media, Inc. has announced the introduction of the informational website for real estate investors, www.CreKnow.com. This comprehensive site provides investors with the information needed to make educated real estate purchases. The site also offers investors advice on where to obtain financing and how to operate small commercial real estate or multifamily properties.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Oracle Group announces the launch of “In the Cafe with Mocha” an exciting new literary television show celebrating African American authors. The show streams via Internet and local television programming in the Washington DC area beginning September 2007.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Shopping online has become an everyday occurrence and merchants and consumers, alike, benefit from competing cyber-shopping sites that strive to provide the best and most reasonable products available. PriceUniverse.com is one such online shopping network that has developed a new niche where consumers choose their price, while merchants realize increased sales.

BEVERLY, Mass. — Why hire a Massachusetts private investigator? According to the Bay State Detective Agency, Inc., while “Do-It-Yourself” investigations may be successful at times, unlicensed investigators may not be aware of information laws and may be in jeopardy of committing serious violations, receiving fines, or even jail time.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Are you a frustrated musician or vocalist seeking a record deal? Are you an unsigned or indie music artist who is looking for that first big break? Want2BDiscovered.com, LLC is giving unsigned artists more exposure than any other web site and has launched a seven-month urban talent competition – the Urban Showcase Series – to help get musicians discovered and the public involved.

SEATTLE, Wash. — Protingent Staffing, a Pacific Northwest leader in technology staffing today announced plans to expand service in select markets through franchise ownership. This expansion model was chosen to leverage the franchisee owner’s familiarity with their local labor market and business climate, giving them a competitive edge.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Gen-9, Inc. announced today the release of Noah version 1.0 as a free download. Noah is an Internet centric data management application. The first beta version became available on September 27, 2006.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Heli-Support, a leading helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul facility, today announced they have been awarded full factory approval for overhaul and repair of one of the most popular helicopter engines in use today, the Turbomeca Arriel 1. The certification is without limitations, and covers the Arriel 1, 1B, 1D and 1D-1, and will soon be followed by all additional Arriel 1 variants.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a bold new book, “If God is So Good, Why are Blacks Doing So Bad?” (LifeBridge Books, ISBN 978-0-9786581-7-5), author James Dixon, II, believes the African-American race is an endangered species and issues an urgent call to business, government, education, entertainment and the church to address the problem.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Social Platform, a social networking software provider of scalable web-based solutions for branded, high end social applications announced today the addition of Tracey Henk to their executive management team. Her appointment supports a long term growth strategy for Social Platform and strengthens its position in the rapidly evolving social networking landscape.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — On Saturday, July 28th, at 10:30 a.m., Dee Dee Phelps, author of “Vinyl Highway” (ISBN: 978-1934321751), singing as Dick and Dee Dee will read on stage at the 2007 Hollywood Book Festival. The annual program celebrates books that deserve recognition from the film, television and multimedia communities.

DALLAS, Texas — SigmaFlow, a leading provider of Best Practice Execution Software, today announced that The United States Internal Revenue Service’s Wage & Investment Division has selected SigmaFlow’s Project Portfolio Management Solution for Lean Six Sigma.

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Users of Windows Mobile phones and wireless handhelds now can get four continuous channels of all-live jazz, blues and Latin performances and complete concerts on-demand through a new partnership between InsideJazz.com and the makers of SelectRadio(R) software. Users of the latest version of SelectRadio software can get the new live music selections in CD-quality streams

GLENDALE, Calif. — Cyrios, Inc., a U.S.-based, California corporation, is meeting with their Asian and European partners to discuss expansion of commodity trading, specifically petroleum and coal, in the global market. “In today’s evolving and expanding global marketplace, companies such as Cyrios, Inc. have to [...]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Wildfire, Inc., which specializes in UV effects, including fixtures and expendable materials, is announcing the launch of their UV Artist of the Month Contest, which is open to all readers of their new newsletter, The Monthly Blaze. Every month, a black light artist will be selected and featured in the print and online newsletter.

HYDERABAD, India, and LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Game Shastra (aka Gameshastra), India’s largest game services provider, has signed a Master Game Development Agreement with Freeze Tag, a California based casual game publisher and developer. Game Shastra will develop and Freeze Tag will publish “Etch A Sketch(R),” a new game inspired by the classic toy from The Ohio Art Company.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — With the opening of the new BETA Studio in the Los Angeles facilities of BETA Records, musicians have a new home for creativity. The studio, located off Sunset Blvd. in the heart of Hollywood, includes a video production room with green screen, interview room, make-up room, DJ and Internet radio production areas, kitchen and guest room.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Wildfire, Inc., which specializes in UV effects, including fixtures and expendable materials, has just launched a unique newsletter devoted entirely to UV effects called “The Monthly Blaze.”

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The year 1982 had a lot of milestones: Sony introduced the first compact disc, a little alien stole our hearts and imaginations with E.T. and, the Valley’s own Trends Magazine released its first issue. Trends, the oldest, continuously published society, philanthropy and lifestyle publication, is celebrating its silver anniversary with events all year long.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Vortex Vibrations is an innovative sex toy that harnesses the power of the household vacuum to increase clitoral sensitivity. Invented by a mother of three, the Vortex Vibrations was designed as an alternative treatment for women suffering from sexual dysfunction. BadFun.com has been chosen as one of the first U.S. retailers of this product.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Tired of the bar scene? Not crazy about chatting online with people you don’t know? FunQuest Adventures provides an alternative to the typical dating scene and offers active singles a fun and safe way to meet people. Internet dating is big business, but with so many predators out there people are becoming more concerned about safety.

DANVERS, Mass. — LineSider Technologies, a leading provider of software and systems for next-generation IP business communications, today announced the appointment of two experienced telecommunications technology executives, Pano Anthos and Dale Booth, to its board of directors.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — New troubles in the sub-prime segment of the U.S. housing market have made some Americans fearful of losing their homes. As a result, American Business Advantage has partnered with the Community Loan Service Center to launch a national foreclosure prevention program.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Relios Inc., an American designer and manufacturer of keepsake sterling silver and genuine gemstone jewelry, is putting a new spin on anniversary gift ideas by re-creating the list with jewelry accessories in mind. The traditional anniversary list of clocks, china, and crystal doesn’t include jewelry items until the gift-giver reaches the later years of marriage.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Himself a victim of forking over thousands for a so-called “space-age” memory foam mattress, web entrepreneur and president of Memorlux.com, Sarkis Chakarian claims to have unveiled what he calls “a marketing scam of global proportions.” His mission, in his own words, is to “expose the myths surrounding the memory foam industry.

FLORENCE, Mass. — Letters for Healing announces the release of their book “Letters to Fathers from Daughters: A Pathway to Healing and Hope” (ISBN: 978-1-932279-74-0). It honors the undeniably crucial bond between daughters and their dads from the daughters’ perspective.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Organic food is the new buzzword among people concerned about health and the environment. And, a newly launched web site, OrganicDirect.com, makes eating better easier than ever while promoting consumer consciousness. OrganicDirect delivers organic, vegan, and healthy food right to the customer’s front door. Their online shopping and delivery service supplies New York and New Jersey.

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Wholesale network infrastructure provider BandCon announced today that it has acquired AM6 Networks, Incorporated, a California-based provider of optical network communications services. BandCon financed the $7.5 million acquisition with stock.

MOUNTAIN LAKES, N.J. — Visionsoft, a U.K.-based software company announces the launch of a new software product that allows parents to control their child’s online chat time: Mom Says No(TM) allows parents to easily control Internet and online chat activity including MSN; parents can set start and end times without unnecessary confrontation.

DURHAM, N.C. — Heart Imaging Technologies (HeartIT) announced today that medical images can be viewed on Apple’s new iPhone. Physicians can simply click on a web link sent via email by one of their colleagues, enter their password, and, for example, instantly view movies of a patient’s beating heart halfway around the world.

RICHARDSON, Texas — Business-to-Investor, Inc. (B2I (R)), the leader in interactive web site solutions for publicly traded companies, announced today that it will provide free hosted E-Proxy solutions for the corporate web sites of publicly traded companies for their 2007 Annual Meetings under an initiative called “My e-Proxy.”

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — When in Rome, three travel agency executives did as the Romans did. Perillo Tours, America’s leader in tourism to Italy since 1945 and Hawaii since 1985, today announced the successful return from an all-expense paid trip to Rome, Italy for three top travel agency winners in the Perillo Perks Incentive Reward Program.

EUGENE, Ore. — Resplendent in their finest magical attire, faerie lovers of all ages from as far away as England, Japan, Hawaii and Australia are gathering at The Secret House Winery outside of Eugene on July 21-22 for Faerieworlds, a celebration of art, music, imagination and all things faerie. This year’s event promises to break all previous attendance records, with guests expected to top 6,000, and is fast becoming one of the most popular outdoor festivals on the West Coast.

AUSTIN, Texas — deverus announced today the launch of their newest sales tools for its customers, the ExpressAccounts – They allow background screening prospects to quickly sign up, place live orders at an initially discounted rate, and track marketing campaign effectiveness. Not only can background check companies more fully demonstrate their capabilities to prospects, they can now better track target prospects and campaign effectiveness.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Reverend Craig X Rubin says, “God has called me to do this work. I am spreading the good news of Jesus’ Kingdom to new believers and informing people about the real Tree of Life.” Reverend Rubin is the leader of Temple420.org, a Judeo-Christian pro-marijuana church that doesn’t promote smoking marijuana, but does burn marijuana in its religious ceremonies.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. — First time author Aimee Schmidt releases a new children’s book today focused on teaching kids about the value of being a unique person. The book, “Abner Finklestein” (ISBN: 978-1-933732-16-9), focuses on a troubled child that finds himself getting made fun of on a consistent basis by his peers.