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Netting in moolah
Restaurants in Japan have embarked on a novel method to boost their sales. To engage their visitors as they wait for tables to clear, many have installed a personal computer connected to the Internet. The guests have a choice between browsing through the restaurant's home page and watching diners inside, on video.

According to a recent industry survey in Japan, about 50 such 'Internet cafes' have been established, and some of them even emphasise the Internet aspect of their restaurants more than their culinary specialities.

Webbing in more
Many network companies had promoted the idea of a cheap computer, tailored to cruise the World Wide Web - the graphical portion of the Internet. Sceptics like Microsoft who had dismissed the idea as being 'soft' and impractical will have to chew their words, became the US-based LSI Logic Corporation has recently unveiled a microchip technology intended to make the US $500 Internet device a reality.

The 'lnternet on a Chip' would comprise a piece of silicon on a chip that integrates a micro-processor with electronic systems which would make digital processing, high speed communications, modem video and a"* transmission and three dimensional graphics possible.

Net thrills
Tom Clancy, the novelist who has authored many best sellers, is now working on a comic for BIG Entertainment, a Florida-based entertainment company The 'graphic novel' due to be out next summer, will feature a series on adventures on the Internet. A number of plans await the creation of these futuristic FBI agents dedicated to bugging Internet crooks and cyberspace terrorists, which include on-line publications, films, CD-Roms and even novels.

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