The automaker is asking customers driving new models of two of its flagship sedans to keep their car keys and cellphones at least an inch apart to avoid disabling the "intelligent keys." Cellphones kept near Nissan's I-Keys -- wireless devices designed to allow drivers to enter and start their cars at the push of a button -- can erase the electronic code on the keys, rendering them unable to unlock or start the cars.

The problem has occurred on the 2007 Nissan Altima and Infiniti G35 sedans -- two of their top-selling models, the company said on Thursday. "We discovered that if the I-Key touches a cellphone, outgoing or incoming calls have the potential to alter the electronic code inside the I-Key," Nissan spokesman Kyle Bazemore said. "The car won't start and the I-Key cannot be reprogrammed," he added.

The problem has occurred in a "very small percentage" of cars sold, Bazemore said. He also said a new version of the I-Key would be available in the fall. Bazemore said current owners have been notified of the potential glitch via mail and can get new keys from dealers if they encounter the problem.

The listing touts the 149,000-square-foot (13,843-sq. meter) structure's selling points, including its cathedral-like common area on the second floor, now used for special events; a 34-car, underground parking garage; and retail and office space on the ground floor. It is accompanied by 12 exterior and interior photos of the building.

Dore suggests that with some remodeling, it could house condominiums.

The auction's fine print makes it clear that the winning bid will not necessarily translate into a change of ownership for the building.

"By participating, you are not entering into a contract to purchase this property," a disclaimer on the listing says. "You are, however, expressing serious interest in the property and in pursuing contract discussions."

Certainly, Mattel has tried to keep its brands Internet-savvy for more than a decade. Mattel's Barbie.com and EverythingGirl.com have the highest concentration of girls age 2 to 11 on the Web, according to researcher Nielsen NetRatings, but their overall audience hasn't grown much over the years.

The company is also being pressured by toys like Webkinz and an avalanche of virtual worlds designed for kids. Bratz, for example, the racier fashion dolls that have eaten into Barbie sales in recent years, plans to launch a virtual world called Bratz World (Be-Bratz.com) and a Rescue Pets (my e-pets.com) this summer.

"Mattel is the 800-pound gorilla in the toy industry, and it's worked hard to continually reinvent itself," said Lisa Bradner, senior analyst at Forrester Research. "I think they'll continue to be a very strong player, but it's hard to innovate at the speed and agility that a company like Webkinz can." The overall audience for Barbie sites has declined slightly over the last year, and has failed to grow over the last three years. According to Nielsen NetRatings, the Barbie site attracted about 1.9 million unique visitors from home and work in April 2007, down from 2.1 million in April 2006. Those numbers are in line with about 2 million visitors in the same month in 2004.

In contrast, Webkinz--plush pets with corresponding virtual homes on the Web--have exploded in popularity over the last year. In April, Webkinz attracted 3.6 million unique visitors from home and work, up from just 285,000 a year before. Webkinz has even usurped the long-reigning virtual pets site of the Web--Neopets, which went from 2.6 million unique visitors in April 2006 to 3.2 million in 2007. Another major contender in the kids category, ages 2 to 11, is Club Penguin, a virtual community of penguin avatars for children. It drew more than 4 million unique visitors in April. And Disney.com, the generalist playground of Mickey Mouse and other characters, attracted more than 11 million visitors that month.

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said it had conducted a survey in Britain, Australia, China, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the United States and tracked more than 2200 elephant ivory items listed on eBay websites.

It found more than 90 per cent of the listings breached even eBay's own wildlife policies.

International wildlife trade laws differ from country to country and are often complex, but according to the IFAW in general it is illegal to sell carved or uncarved ivory unless it is antique and accompanied by a proof of age certificate.

The Fund says the only way to protect elephants from poachers is to shut down the markets where illegal ivory can easily be passed off as antique.

"As the world's largest online shop window, eBay has a special responsibility to lead the way by banning ivory from their sites," Robbie Marsland, IFAW's British director, said.

"Only a global ban on all ivory sales will remove the cover under which this criminal activity currently operates and as a result, seriously help to decrease illegal trade and the cruel and unnecessary slaughter of elephants."

Beijing's mayor has expressed disapproval of outdoor advertisements that promote luxury and indulgence, for fear they would escalate hostility between the rich and the poor, state media said Friday. Billboards promoting expensive villas, cars and other luxury goods were often seen in major Beijing streets, said Mayor Wang Qishan during a gathering with the city's political advisors, according to the Xinhua news agency.

"Many use exaggerated terms that encourage luxury and self-indulgence which are beyond the reach of low-income groups and are therefore not conducive to harmony in the capital," he said. Apartments and villas that often cost millions yuan (hundreds of thousands of dollars) constantly remind people of the yawning income gap between the rich and the poor, Xinhua said.

The per capita disposable income of Beijing's urban residents averaged 5,900 yuan (756 dollars) in the first quarter of this year, according to the Beijing municipal statistics bureau. Those in the rural areas make even less. Anger is rising as documents filed with Chinese stock exchanges show that senior executives in banks and large state-owned firms are making annual salaries several times higher than many of the poor's lift-time earnings.

"Crackberry" addicts, prepare for your favorite dessert to take a licking from California Department of Food and Agriculture officials. Their answer: Nogurt. "You can't call a product frozen yogurt unless it's mixed off-site and delivered to the site as frozen yogurt," said Steve Lyle, a department spokesman.

Pinkberry executives concede that their product is made with a powder and mixed in-store. They say it includes plain yogurt, yet they wouldn't disclose what else goes into their refreshingly tart treat. But a lawsuit might force them to take their secret recipe out of the deep freeze. This week, a civil suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by L.A. resident Bryan Williams, 48, who contends that Pinkberry's powdered mix lacks the "good" bacteria cultures found in yogurt.

"For lack of a better word, it's just dessert," said Williams' attorney, Michael Amir. "We're just asking for them to … tell the public the truth."

*****

Pinkberry "is yogurt, absolutely 100%" vowed company President Young Lee, who said he's working with the state to resolve the concerns. "We are more frozen yogurt than other frozen yogurt."

Nevertheless, Pinkberry has removed written references to frozen yogurt from its website. A catchy jingle, though, still extols Pinkberry's fat-free, 25-calorie-per-ounce virtues: "Sorry ice cream, I'm dreaming of a different dessert. Pinkberry shaved ice and frozen yogurt. It doesn't feel like I'm cheating when I'm eating it, because it's healthy I feel better already."

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One customer said the hype reminded her of a famous "Seinfeld" episode in which Jerry and Elaine gain weight eating loads of "nonfat" yogurt. They finally test the yogurt only to discover that it's not really fat-free. "I hope that episode wasn't foreshadowing Pinkberry's ending," one Angeleno wrote on the Giantrobot.com blog.

Few dresses have glamorized bare flesh more than the silk slip that Carolyn Bessette wore to marry John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1996. It blotted from the mind the schoolgirl roundness of Diana, it stoked the copy kings and it gave an unknown designer, Narciso Rodriguez, a very nice push.

But in recent months, behind the media blaze of his shows and his image as a successful designer, Mr. Rodriguez has been struggling. He trusted the wrong people, he said, listing lawyers and other advisers, and this trust put his business in a yoke. He could continue to plod along and hope for the best, or he could declare bankruptcy and call it a day. Instead, against the view of the fashion world as a cold-hearted place, he picked up the phone and asked for help. He called Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue, and his close friends in the parallel world of celebrity, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld. And he told them all the same thing. "He said, 'You're not going to believe this, but I have no money,'" Ms. Karan recalled. Today, Mr. Rodriguez’s candor is being unexpectedly rewarded. Liz Claiborne, the giant American clothing manufacturer, is acquiring his upscale label.

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The son of Cuban immigrants, Mr. Rodriguez got his start on Seventh Avenue in the 1980s as Ms. Karan’s assistant at Anne Klein. He then went to Calvin Klein, where he met Ms. Bessette, whose job was to look after V.I.P. clients. They grew close. It was at Cerutti, in Paris, where he went to work in the mid-'90s, that he made her wedding dress in secret. Along the way, Mr. Rodriguez honed his style of clean, seductive sportswear, its lines announcing his Cuban roots. Like his clothes, he presents an implacable air of calm. "He's so low-key sometimes," Ms. Wintour said. "And he's not a diva."

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To help finance his business, Mr. Rodriguez turned to Massimo Ferretti, an Italian manufacturer whose company owns Moschino and Alberta Ferretti. Mr. Rodriguez had any number of offers, he said, but he liked Mr. Ferretti and he thought they could work well together. They formed a partnership in which Mr. Ferretti would produce and distribute Mr. Rodriguez's clothes, paying him royalties.

*****

On several occasions, Mr. Rodriguez tried to end their contract but was told by his advisers, he said, that "it was the best that I could do." He also met with a host of potential investors in the hopes of freeing himself. They ranged from representatives of European fashion houses to a man who said he was a confidant of Queen Rania of Jordan and who proposed that Mr. Rodriguez do a separate label for Sarah Jessica Parker. "People always talk about how you need investors," Mr. Rodriguez said, "but they have no idea how hard it really is.” He laughed. "There are sharks out there."

Hey, men: Don't be surprised if very soon your toiletry kit contains not only shaving cream, deodorant and toothpaste, but concealer, oil-absorbing face powder and brow gel. That's because guys are relying on an increasing number of made-for-men products like these to put their best face forward.

"I think men are much more receptive to the whole grooming concept from start to finish. Makeup is sort of the final frontier," says Wendy Lewis, a beauty consultant and author of "The Beauty Battle: An Insider's Guide to Wrinkle Rescue and Cosmetic Perfection from Head to Toe." "They’re certainly concerned about camouflaging imperfections. The idea of a little light dusting of powder is no longer an extreme measure."

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And while still not the norm, makeup — including products from Clinique, Clarins and Jean Paul Gaultier — has become a more common part of the male beauty routine. Walk into megastores like Sephora or Macy's and you'll find a variety of masculine beauty products including bronzer and face masks. Clarin’s Self-Tanning Gel for Men, for example, amps up skin color while evening out skin tone.