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SCMP Reporter

The government is understandably protective of its multi-coloured dragon logo after spending close to HK$10 million on the design under its Brand Hong Kong programme.

But there are limits.

Online gossip site Hicow.com, which has a proud reputation of not taking anybody seriously, recently launched a PayPal page, through which users can donate money to keep the site going.

The logo for the appeal is a picture of a cow. But according to Hicow, the orange cow made BrandHK see red.

According to an e-mailed complaint from Rhian James, brand management officer at the Brand Hong Kong Management Office, 'the body of the cow shares a remarkable resemblance to the BrandHK dragon'.

'Hong Kong's visual identity is an important asset. It symbolises the characteristics of Hong Kong such as it's vibrant nature. It represents Hong Kong and it's core values and must always be used in it's approved form to maintain it's identity and integrity. It must be treated with respect,' demanded Ms James (her punctuation, not ours).

So, in typical Hicow style, the site is holding a poll to decide what its logo should be. So far, the 'Cowized SAR Dragon' is running a close second place - behind Hong Kong's colonial flag.

Having branded the free Linux operating system as everything from a communist plot to a cancer destroying the software industry, it was a little surprising to see Microsoft book booth space at the LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco next month.

This won't be the first time Microsoft has attended the LinuxWorld Expo. The company makes a habit of sending a couple of high-flyers to its competitors' shows in the hope of collaring bewildered journalists and feeding them alternative story angles. But this is the first time they have built a booth.

The question is: what are they going to sell? Peter Houston, senior director of the Windows server product management group, told news site Linux Today that Microsoft would be there to reach out to the open-source community. Makes a change from branding them as pirates.

The idea of Microsoft meeting customers at LinuxWorld is not so far-fetched. The official LinuxWorld Web site is hosted on Microsoft's IIS and Windows NT.

A busy week for Pacific Century CyberWorks, which has decided to rid itself of embarrassing gold-rush era cyber associations by formerly adopting the PCCW moniker. It still has some of that old dotcom debt, but these days, who hasn't?

Meanwhile, the company divested itself of another awkward reminder of boom days gone by after selling off its CSL mobile-phone business to former partner Telstra. The rapid collapse of CyberWorks' international ambitions might be another reason for the renaming - why boast of the Pacific Century when you barely reach beyond the South China Sea?

More importantly, by getting rid of CSL, CyberWorks has a perfect excuse to avoid rolling out a 3G network. It's big, it's expensive, nobody seems to want it, and the 802.11 wireless standard, which can bring broadband Internet access to anyone with a laptop or hand-held computer, no matter where they are, is a lot easier to roll out.

Which is exactly what CyberWorks' Netvigator service chose this week to announce.



BrandHK sees red over orange Hicow image