The Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) has decided to hold the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) general meeting in Seoul on Aug. 19-25, 2007. The OMA is the world's largest standardization organization that sets global private standards on wireless Internet solutions and services. The Seoul general meeting was the results of joint efforts by TTA, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, SK Telecom, and Korea Wireless Internet Solution Association (KWISA) to host the international event. It is rare for an Asian country to host the OMA general meeting, which have been held chiefly in mobile advanced countries, including the United States and some European countries, a TTA spokesman said on April 27. About 1,000 standardization experts from 400 mobile-related domestic and foreign companies are expected to participate in the seven-day OMA meeting. Chang Myung-kook, head of the TTA business support headquarters, said, 'About 400 global companies, including Nokia and Ericsson, joined the OMA, which is aimed at establishing all service standards related to mobile. The Seoul's hosting of this international event will greatly contribute to enhancing a say of Korean companies in international standardization arena and publicizing the domestic mobile industry abroad.' OMA, which enacted standardization size of multi messaging service (MMS) and digital right management (DRM) last year, is expanding its scope to the mobile broadcasting this year. In particular, domestic companies are paying great attention to the OMA as the OMA standard could be applied to the application service of WiBro that Korea is commercializing for the first time in the world. There are three types of OMA members _ sponsor member, full member, associate member and support member. In case of South Korea, Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom are sponsor members of OMA, whereas KTF, LGT and LG Electronics are full members. -- Samsung, Andre Kim Join Forces for Consumer Electronics Design Andre Kim refrigerators and air conditioners will be released in the not-too-distant future. Andre Kim is the representative fashion designer of Korea who is world-famous. He has especially been making designer clothes for women and has been receiving enthusiastic attention from all over the world. He has been a designer for more than 40 years after beginning his design activities in 1962. On April 20, the Household Appliances Management of Samsung Electronics announced that it would tie up a strategic alliance with the world-class designer Andre Kim and launch 'Andre Kim Zipel' . The strategy is to tailor the design concepts of household appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and others, and release innovative design products aimed at the electronic appliance markets both in Korea and abroad. According to the agreement, both sides will launch diverse products suited to global trends from the latter half of this year. The plan is to maximize the effects of the advertisements of the products by exposing the Andre Kim brand at the same time. It has become known that Samsung Electronics will pay hundreds of millions of won per year to Andre Kim for his designing service and consultancy.