Etc...

IT'LL EVEN HAVE A CHAIRLIFT

You've seen the ads: Ski Sun Valley. Ski Aspen. Ski the Matterhorn. Now add a new destination for the alpine sport ... Shanghai. That's a misprint, right? Actually, no. Work on a $36 million slope in the huge Chinese city that will accommodate 2,000 people a day is expected to be finished in July. This, despite the fact that the coldest temperature at any time of year is still too high for snow. But then, this slope won't be outdoors. It's enclosed, with enough equipment to generate a blizzard, even on 100-degree F. summer days. To stimulate business, the developers plan to offer package deals that also include airfare and hotel rooms. China has outdoor ski resorts: 13, in fact. But they're hundreds of miles away in the frigid northeastern provinces.

Most of the US's biggest daily newspapers experienced modest circulation gains after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an industry group reports. This, despite an overall 0.6 percent drop in readership between October 2001 and March 2002 from the corresponding period in 2000-2001, which has been part of a decade-old trend. The average weekday circulation (in thousands, unless otherwise noted) for the top 10 papers, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, with the difference in gain or loss from the preceding year:

1. USA Today, 2.2 milion –3.4%

2. The Wall Street Journal, 1.8 million +0.05%

3. The New York Times, 1.2 million +3.8%

4. Los Angeles Times, 985,000 –5.3%

5. The Washington Post, 811,000 +0.7%

6. New York Daily News, 733,000 +2.2%

7. Chicago Tribune, 628,000 +0.7%

8. Newsday of New York's Long Island, 577,000 +0.1%

9. New York Post, 562,000 +15.4%

10. Houston Chronicle, 545,000 +0.1%

– Associated Press