On October 30 the ticketing center of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) decided to temporarily halt the domestic ticket sales in the second phase because the issue of the communications jam could not be solved in a short time frame. The center will announce new ticketing information on November 5.

China Southern Airlines has launched its new global website with an e-ticketing system (http://www.flychinasouthern.com), marking another key step for China Southern to tap the international travel market.

B2B marketplace Alibaba.com and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement under which they will work together to provide business loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to build a joint online platform offering services such as online financing, online payments and financial consulting.

First Data International reported it has signed a three-year merchant processing agreement with Lenovo, the world’s third-largest PC vendor. First Data will offer its payment processing solutions, from virtually anywhere in the world, to the company’s worldwide Internet consumer and business clients. First Data’s primary banking partner ABN AMRO will serve as the major acquiring bank.

Chinese internet search company Baidu and eBay’s EachNet said that they had reached a collaboration deal. Under the agreement, Baidu will promote Beibao, PayPal’s service in China, and will become the exclusive provider of text-based search advertising on EachNet. EachNet and Baidu will also develop a co-branded toolbar. ( Yahoo News )

Joyo.com, the biggest online Chinese bookstore has announced that its second largest operation center has opened for business in Suzhou Industrial Park. The new operation center will support Joyo.com’s efforts to develop its business in Eastern China, using Amazon’s world-leading logistics technology and successful online retail experience to provide easy and convenient e-commerce service to customers in the region.

Peace may have broken out between eBay and Yahoo in the United States, but one of the bloodiest battles on the web - the contest over China’s online auction space - rages on between their Chinese allies. Yahoo and eBay announced last week they’ll cooperate on their U.S. search, advertising, and online payment efforts. But that teamwork won’t extend to their affiliates in China, according to officials at the Asian operations.

PacificNet Inc., a leading provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and telemarketing services, call center, Direct Response Television (DRTV) and Value-Added Services (VAS) in China, announced that its subsidiary PacificNet iMobile has become the sole authorized service provider of Nokia for its official Nokia Online Store in China.

Ebay China and Taobao.com have expanded their intense competition from the C2C market to the B2C market. Both have launched online stores in cooperation with dozens of premium brands.

EBay on Friday scrapped all sellers’ transaction fees in China, in an effort to compete with local competitors offering free services.