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Petsmart does pampering when out of town

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 28, 2006

PetSmart Inc.'s four-footed clients can lounge on hypoallergenic lambskin blankets, watch television and snack on lactose-free, fat-free ice cream while staying at a PetsHotel when their owners are away for the holidays. The largest U.S. pet-store chain, with 909 stores, has set a goal of eventually opening 435 PetsHotels, a big increase from its 62 locations. Sales at stores with lodging are 29 percent higher than those without it after the fifth year, PetSmart says. Dog owners pay about $31 a night for a suite, a room with a window that measures 4 feet by 7 feet. The suites have raised dog beds with lambskin blankets and a television. The television plays videos such as Walt Disney Co.'s Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians.

Russia says no dice to most casinos

Russia's Parliament on Wednesday gave final backing to a bill that will close casinos and slot machine halls in most of the country. The bill calls for the creation of four zones for legal gambling: the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, the Primorsky region on the Pacific coast, the Siberian region of Altai and in the southern Krasnodar/Rostov area. Casinos and slot-machine operations elsewhere in the country would be banned as of July 1, 2009. Casinos mushroomed in Russia's major cities after the collapse of the Soviet Union and slot machine halls have sprouted throughout the country.

Google casts its net across China

Google Inc., owner of the world's most-used Internet search engine, will invest in Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology Ltd., a Chinese Web site that helps users download videos from the Internet. The investment will probably be disclosed next month, Henry Wang, head of Xunlei's operations in Shanghai, said Wednesday. Google's investment in Xunlei may help it tap growing popularity for online videos in the world's second-biggest Internet market. Existing investors in Xunlei include IDG Venture Capital and Morningside Asia Advisory Ltd. China was home to 123-million Internet users at the end of June, second only to the United States.

Postholiday fares begin descent

Following with tradition, United Airlines has launched a postholiday fare sale intended to stimulate demand during a traditionally slow period, and many of its competitors followed. Some sample one-way fares, which must be bought by Jan. 9 as part of round-trip service through March 7, include $109 for Chicago to San Diego, $126 for Denver to San Francisco and $49 for Washington to Chicago. The fares were published late Tuesday and matched early Wednesday by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, US Airways and Continental Airlines, according to the air travel Web site FareCompare.com.

[Last modified December 27, 2006, 22:15:56]