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Northwest Digest
Verizon to carry new MSN Mobile service

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MSN Mobile will be available on three phones with Verizon's Get It Now technology for $2.49 a month for three months and $2.99 after that. Users can communicate with computers and cellphones using MSN's free Hotmail e-mail and MSN Messenger instant-messaging programs, Microsoft said.

Microsoft and Bedminster, N.J.-based Verizon, the largest U.S. mobile-phone operator, aim to boost sales by attracting customers who are buying Internet- and camera-enabled phones. The new version has the same graphical design as MSN's personal-computer programs and allows features such as conversations among several people. MSN already sells the newer service in South Korea. Verizon is the first to offer it in North America.

Separately Yahoo!, which runs the most-used network of Web sites, said it's combining with Cingular Wireless to sell messaging, e-mail, news, weather and map software through Cingular's Media Net service for wireless phones. Cingular is a joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth.

BP

Refinery upgrade cuts sulfur, says firm

BP said a $115 million upgrade of its Cherry Point refinery near Blaine now enables it to produce gasoline containing nearly zero sulfur, exceeding all current and impending regulations.

Sulfur contaminates a car's catalytic converter, reducing its effectiveness at removing pollutants. Dave Kircher, manager of air resources at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, said sulfur concentrations in local gasoline may reach 300 parts per million.

The Cherry Point refinery's output will have 5 parts per million or less, well below federal standards that next year will limit sulfur to 90 parts per million, said BP spokesman Michael Abendhoff.

According to BP, burning the cleaner gasoline should reduce nitrous-oxide emissions by 620 tons per year, equal to the amount produced annually by 40,000 cars using the region's average gasoline. Likewise, emissions of toxics such as benzene will be reduced by 182 tons a year, the amount produced annually by 130,000 cars.

BP, which markets its gas under the Arco and am/pm brands, said the refinery produces 3.5 million gallons of gas daily.
 
Airbus

Virgin Atlantic picks A340 over Boeing 777

Airbus beat Boeing on a contract from Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways for 26 long-haul planes worth about $5.5 billion, the carrier's biggest order.

Virgin Atlantic chose Airbus aircraft over those from Boeing because passengers prefer the four engines of the A340-600 to the two engines on Boeing's 777, Branson said.

"About 20 percent of our passengers will go out of their way for four engines," said Branson, a UK billionaire. "These planes are very fuel-efficient and customer-friendly."

"Boeing is disappointed by Virgin's decision," said Nick West, a Boeing spokesman, in an e-mailed statement. "We offered a very strong 777 proposal but at the end of the day it is not the right time for joining the Virgin Atlantic fleet. The 777 is a superior product to the A340 and remains the industry favorite with 66 percent market share."

Virgin Atlantic already has 16 Airbus planes in its fleet. It's seeking to grow in size. With the order, it will double its fleet, add 7,500 jobs and go head to head with London-based British Airways, Branson said.

The new Virgin contract includes firm orders for 13 planes, which will be delivered between 2006 and 2008. The airline has options on 13 additional aircraft that would be delivered after 2008, said Paul Moore, a spokesman for the airline.

OVP Venture Partners

New partner named to Kirkland group

OVP Venture Partners, a Kirkland-based venture-capital firm, said it plans to announce today that it has added a new venture partner, Rick LeFaivre.

The appointment comes after Bill Miller, a general partner, left the firm earlier this year.

LeFaivre joins OVP after being an executive and helping younger companies succeed. Over the years, LeFaivre held several executive positions at companies, including Tektronix, Sun Microsystems, Borland International and Apple Computer. Most recently, he helped incubate companies as founder of IdeaEdge Ventures and the Zazi Forum in La Jolla, Calif.

He also was the executive director of the University of California, San Diego's von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement. Currently, he is a board member of publicly traded Seattle-based WatchGuard Technologies.

Compiled from Times staff and Bloomberg News