Winnie Lai

When the combined Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. company debuts on May 7, Compaq employees will be in regional and local leadership positions of the new US$21 billion company throughout Asia-Pacific, with the exception of China and Japan.

Under public criticism for promoting an oligopoly in the local software market, the Hong Kong government has for the first time outlined its stance towards the use of open-source technology in the support of public service provision.

Although IT crime is declining in Hong Kong, the territory's police report a rise in financial computer crimes. In addition, company insiders commit half of all IT crimes, the police said.

To provide protection against Internet-related risks not normally covered by traditional insurance policies, American International Underwriters (AIU) and systems integrator Datacraft Asia Ltd. last week introduced an e-business security assessment and insurance service in Hong Kong.

Issues of transparency were raised last week in Hong Kong when it was revealed that a Gartner Group analyst commented on an adult web site in which he was an investor. While Gartner's reputation hasn't been much tarnished, according to customers of the research firm, the Asia-Pacific management has received a reprimand from the group's U.S. headquarters.