Mao Zedong's personal airplane has been put up for sale by the owner of a shopping centre in southern China to make more space for parking.

Wang Zhilei, general manager of property developer Ridong Group in Zhuhai, a city in southern Guangdong province, confirmed the company had put the 46-metre-long plane up for sale.

"There are not enough parking spaces, so we decided to sell the plane," Mr Wang said. He told the Southern Metropolis Daily, a Chinese newspaper, that it was shop owners that had asked for the plane - which was purchased by the company in 1999 and put on display near the shopping centre - to be moved to make way for more parking spaces.

The jet is one of three that the Chinese air force bought from Pakistan in 1969, according to the report. One was given to Mao, the founder of modern China, the other was given to Lin Biao, Mao's heir apparent, and the third was reserved for the military.

Bidding farewell to 'g'day mate'

Australians who sound like crocodile hunter Steve Irwin or Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan could soon be a relic of the past, a report has said.

Research shows the nasal Australian twang - exemplified by the late Mr Irwin and the character Mick "Crocodile" Dundee - will be phased out within a few decades as the nation shakes loose its colonial roots and moves towards a standard national pronunciation, The Sunday Telegraph said.

Citing a new book by Australian National University academic Bruce Moore, the paper said the change would come about as the need for Australians to distinguish themselves from their British forebears faded. "Australians are becoming more confident with the standard Australian accent - and that means there's no longer the need for those sorts of extreme sounds," lexicographer Prof. Moore said.

Words like "mate" would no longer be pronounced "mite" as some of the unique characteristics of Australian speech disappeared, he said.

'Credit crunch' is a chocolate treat

British department store Selfridge's has launched a new up-scale chocolate treat - the "Credit Crunch" - for shoppers looking for comfort food amid the international financial crisis.

"Although people might be looking to spend a little less at the moment, they still want to treat themselves to the best in terms of quality and luxury," said Ewan Venters, the store's director of food and restaurants.

"Quality chocolate is the ultimate solution, being relatively inexpensive, instantly satisfying and really helps lift your mood."

A 150-gram bag of "Credit Crunch" - made up of Valrhona chocolate and honeycomb pieces - sells for £3.99 (€5).

Quarter of mammals may become extinct

A quarter of the world's mammals are threatened with extinction, an international survey showed yesterday, and the destruction of habitats and hunting are the major causes.

The report, the most comprehensive to date by 1,700 researchers, showed populations of half of all 5,487 species of mammals were in decline. Mammals range in size from blue whales to Thailand's insect-sized bumblebee bat.

"Mammals are declining faster than we thought - one in four species is threatened with extinction worldwide," Jan Schipper, who led the team, said of the report issued in Barcelona as part of a Red List of threatened species.

He said threats were worst for land mammals in Asia, where creatures such as orang utans are suffering from deforestation. Almost 80 per cent of primates in the region were under threat.

Porsche boss steers around shares

Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking has managed to steer clear of the immediate fallout of the global financial crisis, telling a German newspaper that he has avoided investing in shares. "I've never had any shares" the CEO of the iconic German sports car manufacturer was quoted as saying in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Sunday.

Instead Mr Wiedeking said he preferred to invest into real estate, start-up companies, and even restaurants. He said he had just realised one of his dreams by buying a cafe in the North-Rhine Westphalia region.

"The cafe is doing very well, I can recommend it to everyone: Good food, good beer and reasonable prices," said Mr Wiedeking.