Google to reexamine map of Thai-Cambodia border temple

Wed, Feb 10, 2010
AFP
PHNOM PENH - Internet giant Google has promised Cambodia it will review a map of an ancient temple at the centre of the country's border dispute with Thailand, according to a letter obtained by AFP Wednesday.

Cambodian authorities accused Google of being "professionally irresponsible" in a letter sent last week, because its Google Earth map depicts nearly half of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple as being in Thailand.

The Southeast Asian neighbours' troops have been in a standoff in the disputed territory since 2008, with occasional gunfights claiming several lives.

"We are carefully reviewing the Government of Cambodia's objections regarding the depiction of Cambodian borders in Google Earth, and we plan to respond to your letter more fully in the very near future," said Google.

The letter, dated Tuesday, was signed by Google's head of government affairs in Asia Pacific, Ross LaJeunesse, and sent to Cambodian cabinet officials.

It added that its map data was provided by Tele Atlas, an international mapping company.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, although the main entrance lies in Thailand. The exact boundary through the surrounding grounds remains in dispute.

Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over their border for decades, however nationalist tensions spilled over into violence in July 2008, when the Preah Vihear temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status.

Cambodia made its complaint to Google as its premier Hun Sen visited areas near the disputed border, making fiery speeches that accused Thailand of invading his country.

Four soldiers were killed in clashes near the temple in 2008 and three more in a gunbattle last April. Smaller flare-ups continue to be reported between troops in the area, with the most recent exchange of fire on January 29.

The border has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Relations between the neighbouring countries deteriorated further in November after Hun Sen appointed ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives abroad to escape a jail term for corruption, as an economic adviser.
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INTERVIEW-Cambodia casino firm NagaCorp sees 2010 rev up 30 pct
http://news.alibaba.com/
via CAAI News Media

HONG KONG, Feb 10 - NagaCorp <3918.HK>, which operates a casino in Cambodia, expects revenue in 2010 to grow by 30 percent as the global economy recovers, its chief executive officer said.

On Tuesday, NagaCorp posted a 36.3 percent fall in 2009 net profit to $25.5 million. Revenue fell 39.1 percent to $118 million, with revenue from VIP gamblers tumbling 70 percent.

The company planned to add at least 250 slot machines to its casino in 2010 and form joint ventures with junket operators -- middle men who bring VIP gamblers to casinos in Macau and Thailand, CEO Chen Lip Keong told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Founded in 1995 and listed in Hong Kong in October 2006, NagaCorp, with a stock market value of $222.4 million, is the only casino operator in Phnom Penh. With a casino license that is valid till 2065, NagaCorp can operate any number of casinos of any size within 200 kilometres of the capital.