Sharp Corp. too included a DVI connector on a new 18 inch screen and also built a USB (universal serial bus) hub into new 18- and 20 inch monitors with the idea of increasing convenience of users.

CNN: Flat panel displays big at CeBIT

In Mumbai, the country's financial hub, taxi, bus and train services were normal.

WSJ: Millions in India to Resume Work Friday After Strike

It had been open just one day when I arrived, and the new rail service would save me from retracing the uncomfortable five-hour bus trip I had endured to get here from the tourist hub of Guilin city, about 150km to the southeast.

BBC: A bullet train to nowhere

Mitchell envisages stacks of cars at various points around the city, such as outside subway or bus stations, solving what he calls the "last mile" problem of getting home from a central hub.

CNN: Reinventing the wheel