NATION

NATION
Regal Entertainment bansgraphic video games
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Regal Entertainment Group, the country's largest movie theater circuit, is banning from its lobbies video games that contain graphic violence, obscenity or sexual behavior. That's still OK for the movies, though.
Company spokesman Dick Westerling said video arcade games are in all of the company's theaters and that the new rules against offensive games stem from complaints from parents.
"There are some games that really push the envelope with content that isn't suitable for common areas," Westerling said. He refused to identify the banned games but said content Regal finds unacceptable includes: graphic depictions of sexual behavior or nudity, violence toward law enforcement officers or figures of authority, obscene or foul language, and graphically violent character deaths.
Westerling conceded such subjects are found on many of Regal's 6,119 movie screens, but he said there's a separation between the lobby and the theaters, enforced by ushers.
"If you are going to see an R-rated movie, you have to be 17 or over or accompanied by an adult, so there is a little more formal screening," he said.
WORLD
Norwegian group to buildworld's largest cruise ship
OSLO, Norway -- Norway's Aker Kvaerner group said Friday it finalized a contract with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. to build the world's largest cruise ship.
The company said the ship will be built at its Masa Yard in Finland for delivery in May 2006. It also said Royal Caribbean signed an option for a second ship to be delivered in 2007.
The new ship, called the Ultra Voyager, will be 1,112-feet-long and 18 stories high, with accommodation for 3,600 passengers. It will require a crew of 1,400.
The ship is expected to be about 15 percent bigger and have space for 500 more passengers than the line's five Voyager class ships, currently the largest cruise ships in service.
Miami-based Royal Caribbean operates Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, with 26 ships.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Royal Caribbean estimated that the total cost of the project, including engineering, construction and fitting the ship, would be about $200,000 per passenger bed, or about $720 million based on 3,600 passengers.
Oslo-based Aker Kvaerner has interests in petroleum, metals, power generation, pharmaceuticals, wood pulping, shipbuilding and other areas. It employs about 33,000 people in more than 30 countries.
Associated Press