Mr Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for the Elimination of Leprosy and Japanese Government Goodwill Ambassador for the Human Rights of People Affected by Leprosy, has called for an end to the common use of the word leper.

Speaking at the launch in London of the fourth Global Appeal to End Stigma and Discrimination Against People Affected by Leprosy, held to coincide with World Leprosy Day, he said that the word carries the meaning of a pariah, or social outcast.

Mr Sasakawa said that people affected by leprosy have demanded that the term not be used.

ZURICH, Switzerland, January 26 /PRNewswire/ --

SVOX, the leading provider of embedded speech solutions today announced the acquisition of the Professional Speech Processing Group of Siemens AG, according to SVOX CEO Volker Jantzen. SVOX has acquired all speech technology-related IP of Siemens AG developed over 25 years, including the SpeechAdvance(TM) speech recognition product suite and more than 60 patent families. The majority of the Professional Speech Processing Group's employees will be integrated into SVOX Deutschland GmbH in Munich. SVOX Deutschland GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of SVOX AG.

LONDON, January 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Most Established eBay Alternative to Spend 2008 Profits on Marketing and Site Enhancements

COPENHAGEN, January 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers, engineers, architects and experts from the international building sector gathered on the 22nd of January in Copenhagen for the first international Active Housing Round Table discussion. The aim of the day was to focus on the strong need and concern we face today dealing with climate changes, energy consumption and indoor living conditions. The Round Table event was hosted by VELUX A/S.

'Active Housing' is a term that highlights the challenges of how to combine energy design and liveability factor considerations in new and existing housing stock.

LONDON, January 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Smartphone is the Killer Device to Create a Successful Business Model in Russia

The Automotive Transportation Group at Frost Sullivan is pleased to announce its 2009 Quarterly Analyst Briefing Presentation on the Russian Navigation Market to be held on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 3.00 p.m. GMT.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)

DUBLIN, Ireland, January 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Enables Sponsors to Comply With Recent FDA Guidance on Diabetes Trials

ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR; ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced the launch of a new electronic solution that will accelerate the adjudication of cardiovascular events in diabetes studies.

YOQNEAM, Israel, January 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Peer-Reviewed Data Support Unique Focused Ultrasound Technology for Non-Invasive Fat Reduction and Body Contouring

PARSIPPANY, New Jersey, BRENTFORD, England and SINGAPORE, January 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Uniform Communications Fulfillment through Global Alliance Helps Multinationals Remain Competitive

Three Platinum Certified Avaya BusinessPartners have joined forces to fulfill the communication technology needs of multinationals.

Strategic Products and Services (SPS), headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, USA; Datapoint, headquartered in Brentford, Middlesex, UK; Jebsen Jessen Communications, headquartered in Singapore, Asia are the founding partners of the Intelligent Communications Alliance.

POOLE, England, January 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Accessing files and applications over the internet is changing the way we work and play. Has web 2.0 finally come of age?

Microsoft recently announced that a 'lightweight' web version of Office, which will include programmes such as Word and Excel, is currently in the works. It's a significant move by the software giant. In 2007, Office generated around $19 billion for the company, almost a third of its total revenue. But it's just the latest example of a paradigm shift towards cloud computing.