As the Game Developers Conference gets under way this week in San Francisco, GamesIndustry.biz highlights some of the key sessions, announcements, companies and games at the annual business event.

Monday's big draw is Areae's Raph Koster, speaking at the Worlds in Motion Summit. With work on Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies under his belt, he's perfect to address "Why Gamers should Care about Virtual Worlds," discussing the growth of online spaces and how they are influencing videogame design.

Non-ferrous Metallurgy

The nonferrous metallurgy industry is strongly export-oriented: up to 70% of the country's nonferrous metal production is exported. Aluminum makes up 48% of export volumes; nickel, 20%; and copper, 12% in terms of value. Most of the rest consists of precious metals produced by Norilsk Nickel (Nornikel).

The industry employs about 20% of the country's employable population and is growing dynamically: output volumes in nonferrous metallurgy increased by 7.1% in 2001. However, at present the industry's effectiveness is a result of low resource costs, including energy costs, and Russia's enormous mineral reserves rather than high technology. Therefore, nonferrous metallurgy is one of the most successful and at the same time one of the most problematic sectors of the economy, since it is the first to react to any changes in the country's macroeconomic situation.

Thomson Financial Europe AM at a glance share guide: Shares mixed, oil ...

Oil futures ended an erratic session higher Tuesday as investors focused on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates and OPEC will hold production steady, and shrugged off estimates that domestic crude inventories rose last week.

Care about the environment? Eat less meat

If we were to cut back on eating meat, we might as well cut back on the amount of corn being farmed, which today is being more and more used in the bio fuel industry, because then we wouldn't use as many tractors, which emit tons of emmisions. There are so many things that we can do to save the environment, and I am certainly all for that, cutting back on the amount of gas and travelling I do/use, and turning off/unplugging my appliances when not in use, but something such as cutting back on the meat I eat will certainly not be something I will commit to. Growing up on a farm has taught me so much, lessons of hardships and turmoil, lessons which I would have never been able to learn of I were to have grown up as a 'city kid.' People in the cities do not realize how important the agriculture industry is to them, and one day if the criticism of farmers is to continue, farmers may disappear entirely.

US Commodities: Gold Up; Platinum Soars; Wheat Down Sharply

In grains trading, most wheat futures closed sharply lower Monday after the exchanges increased margins and daily trading limits and index funds began to roll positions out of nearby contracts, traders and analysts said.

Activity was volatile after all three exchanges said late Friday they would raise their daily trading limits to 60 cents from 30 cents, effective Sunday.

A clean sweep

The benches are piled high with a crush of tender perennials which are losing their foliage in shock now that I am enforcing a frost-free resting period upon them. They look terrible and contribute to the tone of disarray. The ladder, for that is usually what forces me to make a move, is way out of reach and if I am to do anything constructive in the garden, the first thing to do is to make a start on this nerve centre.

I'm sounding like an old timer when I say this, but when I was an apprentice we had to wash all the pots in the winter. It was a wet weather job and it was always grim with cold water and brushes that didn't fit in the terracotta, but it was satisfying in its way and worth doing so that tender young seedlings and vulnerable cuttings are given a good start. The theory goes that old compost is home to pathogens, but I only ever do a handful today for the seedlings that I raise inside on the windowsills.