Top 9 Terror persons of the world

Osama Bin Laden

The most wanted man in the world is accused of master minding the 1998 bombings of U.S Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, resulting in the deaths of over 200 people. He has also been charged with conspiring to kill Americans outside the U.S. and has claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre towers in New York that resulted in an estimated 3,000 deaths.

He is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, perhaps in the Waziristan region. Former U.S. President, G.W. Bush authorized a $25 million bounty, but for the last seven years, the 51 year old Saudi Arabian has managed to evade the largest man hunt in history.

Joaquin Guzman

In the shady world of South American drug cartels, it takes a particular breed of nastiness to topple the Columbians, famed for their particular brand of ruthlessness that allowed them to dominate the drug trade into the United States. So when Guzman established himself as the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, it goes with out saying that he did so in a wave of bloodshed that has killed thousands, including priests and policemen.

Known as 'El Chapo' or 'Shorty', the Mexican kingpin specialized in importing cocaine from Columbia and smuggling it into the U.S through elaborate tunnels. He was arrested in 2001 and placed in a Mexican maximum security prison, and was due to be extradited to the States. However, so deep was his influence that he orchestrated his escape, allegedly in a laundry truck, with the help of no less than seventy eight people, including, it is rumored, the facility director.

Since then he has evaded capture, while being indicted by the United States and a five million bounty has been placed on his head.

Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov

Originally from Uzbekistan, Tokhtakhounov has established himself as the modern face of the Russian mafia. Known as 'Taiwanchik' for his Asiatic features, Tokhtakhounov is suspected to be a major player in the trafficking of drugs, illegal arms and stolen motor vehicles.

He is also rumored to be heavily involved in the fixing of high profile events, ranging from beauty pageants to Olympic events at the Utah Winter Games. In 2002, he was indicted by the U.S. government for bribing Olympic figure skating judges to favor the French team, robbing the Canadians of gold medals in the pair's competition. The U.S. tried to get him extradited from Italy after his arrest there, but he was released and has since disappeared into Russia.

Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar

Arguably the most wanted man in India's history; this son of an Indian policeman allegedly oversees a criminal empire that stretches across Mumbai, Pakistan and Dubai. His organized crime group, 'D-Company' is reportedly involved in drug trafficking, counterfeiting, weapons smuggling, and murder. Ibrahim has been accused of masterminding the 1993 Bombay Blasts that killed 257 people and wounded 713.

According to reports, the lone surviving gunman from the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, Ajmal Amir Kasab, has allegedly confessed to authorities that Ibrahim's organization provided the terrorists with the arms and explosives to carry out the attacks.

The Indian government has long suspected him of having ties with Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence agency and believes that the Pakistan government is sheltering him in Karachi. The United States government has declared him a 'global terrorist' and has associated him with Al Qaeda. The United Nations has attempted to freeze his assets and Interpol has placed him on their most wanted list, but as yet he remains protected in Pakistan. It's been rumored that the 52 year old has had significant plastic surgery to alter his appearance.

Matteo Messina Denaro

The 'playboy' of the Italian mafia, Denaro seen as the most powerful and influential member of the Costa Nostra, taking advantage of the vacuum in power left by the arrest of long time leaders like Bernardo Provenzano in 2006.

Denaro is known for his taste in expensive watches, fast cars and young women, but this is no mere playboy playing gangster, Denaro has been implicated in the deadly 1993 bomb attacks that forced the Italian government to stop its campaign to crack down on the mafia. He is also rumored to be heavily involved in the international drug trade and extortion rackets. Recently, "Diabolik" as he is also known, has been rumored to be involved in money laundering rings that allow him to circulated hundreds of millions of dollars. It has also been estimated that he has been involved in the murders of at least 50 people.

The Sicilian has since evaded arrest following the 1993 attacks and has been sentenced to life in prison (in absentia).

Félicien Kabuga

The most wanted man in Africa, Kabuga is held responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, having been the driving force behind the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda issued an international arrest warrant for Kabuga, a rich businessman, and charged him with crimes including genocide, the conspiracy to commit genocide and the complicity in genocide. He has been accused of bankrolling the Hutu militias who carried out the massacres of over 800,000 Tutsi civilians over a period of 100 days in Rwanda. He allegedly provided arms, transportation and uniforms to the militias and purchased thousands of machetes and hoes, which were used as weapons to attack unarmed civilians. Kabuga's radio station was also heard to propagate extremist Hutu ideology and exhort the militias to wipe out the Tutsi population.

Following the conquest of Rwanda by the Tutsi dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front, Kabuga has fled the country and is currently a fugitive, having attempted to seek refuge in Switzerland and the Democratic Republic of Congo, before being admitted into Kenya, where he is rumored to be a resident in Nairobi.

Joseph Kony

The founder and head of The Lord's Resistance Army, a guerilla group that is conducting a violent and bloody campaign to establish a theocratic government in Uganda, using a system of governance based on the Bible and the Ten Commandments.

Kony has been issued with a warrant by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. It is believed that under his direction, the LRA has been responsible for the displacement of two million people, the abduction of approximately 60,000 people, including 30,000 children, who are used as soldiers in his campaign of murder, destruction, rape, sexual slavery and mutilation. Allegedly, Kony has been known force children to murder their own parents as part of their initiation into the LRA.

In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the United States government placed Kony on their 'global terrorist' list, a move that carries severe financial and other penalties. It is unknown whether Kony has any assets that would be affected by this designation.

James 'Whitey' Bulger

The leader of an Irish-American crime family, Bulger controlled the drug trade and extortion rackets in South Boston, building up a fortune that is believed to be in excess of $50 million. He has been implicated in a number of murders, and has been known to associate with a number of major criminal enterprises across North America and Europe, including the Irish Republican Army.

According to sources, Bulger was a gangster of the old school, refusing to deal in heroin and to children, extracting violent retribution against dealers who disobeyed his edicts.

The FBI has tracked Bulger for more than a decade, placing him on their 'Ten Most Wanted' list and a $1 million bounty on his head. However, due to his wealth and extensive lists of contacts built up over the decades, the 80 year old mob boss has managed to evade capture, and is currently rumored to have relocated to Sicily, with last confirmed sighting of him being in London, 2002.

Omid Tahvili

The kingpin of an Iranian crime family, Tahvili is believed to be connected to various triads and global criminal groups. Known as "Nino", the Iranian is based in Canada and is suspected of heading up one of the major crime organizations operating of the Iranian community in Canada.

In 2005, Tahvili was arrested for the torture and sexual assault of a male relative of an associate he suspected of stealing $500,000 dollars from him. He was awaiting sentencing in a maximum security prison in British Columbia, but walked out after bribing a guard with $50,000.

The U.S. government is seeking his arrest in relation to an alleged operation of a fraudulent telemarketing business that scammed approximately three million dollars from elderly American victims. Tahvili is rumored to have contacts throughout the Middle East and Europe, and is believed to run operations in these areas. He remains at large.

10 most Sexiest Singers of the world

Beyonce Knowles is among those who have made it to a new list of the 'Sexiest Female Singers'.

A website has come up with its list of the top 10 sexy singers, reports the Daily Chilli. According to the TopSexyWomen.com website, these are the top 10 sexiest female singers:

1. Beyonce

The popstar doesn't have to try hard to sing or look sexy because she is both. The singer, who sizzled in this red-hot outfit during the recent MTV music awards, also has the pipes which won her the prestigious Billboard Woman of the Year Awar at a gala brunch in New York in October.

'She has not only influenced pop culture with her hit songs and her signature dance moves, but has inspired women everywhere with her unique style, business savvy and dedication to charitable causes,' Contactmusic quoted publication editorial director Bill Werde as saying.

2. Shakira

You know what they say, sexiness is all in the mind and this Latin pop princess is not 'insecure' or 'uncomfortable of her body' after hitting her 30s.

The 32-year-old singer, who donned a figure hugging, skin-coloured leotard for her latest She Wolf video, is now ready to tread the not-so-tried road of steamy onscreen appearances.

Contactmusic quoted her as saying: 'We all have our own insecurities but I used to have more of those days in my 20s. I found nothing satisfied me and I just wanted to hide from the world. You should always make the most of what you've got and I think I've tried my entire life to figure that out. Now I feel a lot more comfortable in my own body.'

3. Christina Aguilera

At third place is Christina Aguilera who said becoming a mother has made her feel sexier.

The singer, who delivered Max, her first child with husband Jordan Bratman, last January, insists that parenthood has harnessed her personality and also her sex appeal.

'Since becoming a mum, I feel I have more knowledge and that makes me feel beautiful. I feel more centred, which makes me feel confident and sexy,' the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

4. Mariah Carey

This popstar dazed all with her idyllic voice and to-die-for body.

Mariah, who got rid of a great amount of weight through a combination diet, has been branded hardworking by longtime trainer Patricia Gay.

'I feel great, it's hard work to stay in shape but the results are worth it,' the Mirror quoted Mariah as saying.

'She's been toned since the beginning, she is small. She has only muscle and no fat at all. She is a hard worker!' Patricia said.

Mariah makes no bones about the fact that her toned body has not been acquired easily, as she follows a 'bleak' 1,500 calorie-a-day diet, comprising few of her favourite comfort foods.

'It's mainly about the diet, so when my trainer leaves it's sooo hard to stick to it! For breakfast, Patricia will make some boring eggs and I don't really like eggs anyway, and she'll give me some probiotic yoghurt to help with digestion,' Mariah said.

5. Britney Spears

At number five is Britney Spears whose music video for new single 3 has been dubbed raunchier than ever. The singer was said to have flaunted her tiny frame with statement blonde locks and minimal clothes in the video. The pop princess was spotted in a series of cut-out leotards as she gyrated to the sound of raunchy sound effects, reports The Mirror. The 27-year-old is also seen taking to the pole while rubbing up against her barely clad female dancers.

6. Ciara

The popstar is one hot singer whose breathy voice and sexy videos keep fans panting for more 'Love, Sex and Magic'.

7. Jessica Simpson

She has got the voice and the body perfect for a pop princess. Now, if only she can break even with a great single.

8. Madonna

Rocking her way to the list is Madonna who explained why she likes younger men.

It appears that the Queen of Pop, 51, who's dating 22-year-old Brazilian model Jesus Luz, believes that blokes are 'more adventurous, open and fun.'

According to her, men her age are 'usually married, divorced, grumpy, fat and balding,' reports The Sun.

She also reckons that her body is part of her 'job'.

'If I'm not in good shape, then how can I dance around on stage with my butt hanging out, right?' she added.

9. Hilary Duff

Remember the sweet-faced star of Cinderella Story? Well, bid her innocent looks goodbye for the singer/actress shed her good girl image with a raunchy role in her upcoming film.

The 20-year-old star plays the role of a 'slutty' pop star in the John Cusack film, War, Inc, based on war profiteers.

'She played a pop idol from central Asia. So, she was like a Hilary but not Hilary, because Hilary is so classy, but like a real, and I won't name names, but a real slutty pop star... Hilary is the opposite of that, of course,' News.com.au quoted Cusack, as telling MTV.

10. Christina Milian

Christina Milian, who was once touted as the next Britney Spears, recently bared it all for a new magazine in a bid to save her plummeting music career.

And it seems the move paid off for the once fresh-faced singer rounds off the top 10 sexiest singers.

The sexy singer appears on the front cover of King magazine revealing a rather 'wild' avatar of her, to give a boost to her career, reports The Sun.

The 'AM to PM' singer's self-titled debut album was released in 2001, following collaboration with Ja Rule.

Top 10 Accidental Inventions

No. 1 - Penicillin

As one of the most famous and fortunate accidents of the 20th century, penicillin belongs at No. 1 on this list.

If you've been living under a rock for the past 80 years or so, here's how the popular story goes:

Alexander Fleming didn't clean up his workstation before going on vacation one day in 1928. When he came back, Fleming noticed that there was a strange fungus on some of his cultures. Even stranger was that bacteria didn't seem to thrive near those cultures.

Penicillin became the first and is still one of the most widely used antibiotics.

No. 2 - Pacemaker

This list wouldn't be complete without at least one absent-minded professor. But it's not flubber clocking in at No. 2, it's a life saving medical device. That pacemaker sewn into a loved one's chest actually came about because American engineer Wilson Greatbatch reached into a box and pulled out the wrong thing.

It's true. Greatbatch was working on making a circuit to help record fast heart sounds. He reached into a box for a resistor in order to finish the circuit and pulled out a 1-megaohm resistor instead of a 10,000-ohm one.

The circuit pulsed for 1.8 milliseconds and then stopped for one second. Then it repeated. The sound was as old as man: a perfect heartbeat.

No. 3 - Mauve

Talk about strange connections - 18-year-old chemist William Perkin wanted to cure malaria; instead his scientific endeavors changed the face of fashion forever and, oh yeah, helped fight cancer.

Confused? Don't be. Here's how it happened.

In 1856 Perkin was trying to come up with an artificial quinine. Instead of a malaria treatment, his experiments produced a thick murky mess. But the more he looked at it, the more Perkin saw a beautiful color in his mess. Turns out he had made the first-ever synthetic dye.

His dye was far better than any dyes that came from nature; the color was brighter, more vibrant, and didn't fade or wash out. His discovery also turned chemistry into a money-generating science - making it attractive for a whole generation of curious-minded people.

But the story is not over yet. One of the people inspired by Perkin's work was German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich, who used Perkin's dyes to pioneer immunology and chemotherapy.

No. 4 - Radioactivity

Two words that you don't ever want to hear said in the same sentence are "Whoops!" and "radioactive." But in the case of physicist Henri Becquerel's surprise discovery, it was an accident that brought radioactivity to light.

Back in 1896 Becquerel was fascinated by two things: natural fluorescence and the newfangled X-ray. He ran a series of experiments to see if naturally fluorescent minerals produced X-rays after they had been left out in the sun.

One problem - he was doing these experiments in the winter, and there was one week with a long stretch of overcast skies. He left his equipment wrapped up together in a drawer and waited for a sunny day.

When he got back to work, Becquerel realized that the uranium rock he had left in the drawer had imprinted itself on a photographic plate without being exposed to sunlight first. There was something very special about that rock. Working with Marie and Pierre Curie, he discovered that that something was radioactivity.

No. 5 - Plastic

In 1907 shellac was used as insulation in electronics. It was costing the industry a pretty penny to import shellac, which was made from Southeast Asian beetles, and at home chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland thought he might turn a profit if he could produce a shellac alternative.

Instead his experiments yielded a moldable material that could take high temperatures without distorting.

Baekeland thought his "Bakelite" might be used for phonograph records, but it was soon clear that the product had thousands of uses. Today plastic, which was derived from Bakelite, is used for everything from telephones to iconic movie punch lines.

No. 6 - Vulcanized Rubber

Charles Goodyear had been waiting years for a happy accident when it finally occurred.

Goodyear spent a decade finding ways to make rubber easier to work with while being resistant to heat and cold.

Nothing was having the effect he wanted.

One day he spilled a mixture of rubber, sulfur and lead onto a hot stove. The heat charred the mixture, but didn't ruin it. When Goodyear picked up the accident, he noticed that the mixture had hardened but was still quite usable.

At last! The breakthrough he had been waiting for! His vulcanized rubber is used in everything from tires, to shoes, to hockey pucks.

No. 7- Teflon

After all the damage they've done to the ozone layer, chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are persona non grata. Back in the 1930s, however, they were (pardon the pun) the hot new thing in the science of refrigeration.

Young DuPont chemist Roy Plunkett was working to make a new a new kind of CFC. He had a theory that if he could get a compound called TFE to react with hydrochloric acid, he could produce the refrigerant he wanted.

So, to start his experiment Plunkett got a whole bunch of TFE gas, cooled it and pressured it in canisters so it could be stored until he was ready to use it. When the time came to open the container and put the TFE and hydrochloric acid together so they could react, nothing came out of the canister. The gas had disappeared.

Only it hadn't. Frustrated and angry, Plunkett took off the top of the canister and shook it. Out came some fine white flakes. Luckily for everyone who's ever made an omelet, he was intrigued by the flakes and handed them off to other scientists at DuPont.

No. 8 - Coke

There are many stories of accidentally invented food: the potato chip was born when cook George Crum (yes, really his name!) tried to silence a persnickety customer who kept sending french fries back to the kitchen for being soggy; Popsicles were invented when Frank Epperson left a drink outside in the cold overnight; and ice cream cones were invented at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.

But no food-vention has had as much success as Coke.

Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton was trying to make a cure for headaches. He mixed together a bunch of ingredients -- and don't ask, because we don't know; The recipe is still a closely guarded secret. It only took eight years of being sold in a drug store before the drink was popular enough to be sold in bottles.

No. 9 - Smart Dust

Most people would be pretty upset if their homework blew up in their faces and crumbled into a bunch of tiny pieces.

Not so student Jamie Link. When Link was doing her doctoral work in chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, one of the silicon chips she was working on burst. She discovered afterward, however, that the tiny pieces still functioned as sensors.

The resulting "smart dust" won her the top prize at the Collegiate Inventors Competition in 2003. These teensy sensors can also be used to monitor the purity of drinking or seawater, to detect hazardous chemical or biological agents in the air, or even to locate and destroy tumor cells in the body.

No. 10 - Saccharin

Saccharin, the sweetener in the pink packet, was discovered because chemist Constantin Fahlberg didn't wash his hands after a day at the office.

Prepare to get icked.

The year was 1879 and Fahlberg was trying to come up with new and interesting uses for coal tar. After a productive day at the office, he went home and something strange happened.

He noticed the rolls he was eating tasted particularly sweet. He asked his wife if she had done anything interesting to the rolls, but she hadn't. They tasted normal to her. Fahlberg realized the taste must have been coming from his hands -- which he hadn't washed.

The next day he went back to the lab and started tasting his work until he found the sweet spot.

Ten Most Populated Cities in the World

We live in a big world with a lot of people. With global population racing upwards of 6.8 billion and environmental issues taking the lime light, overpopulation is a growing concern. Even though no city in the United States ranks among the ten most populated cities in the world, it is the number one contributor of carbon emissions.

1. Shanghai, China
Population: 14,348,535



2. Mumbai, India
Population: 11,914,398


3. Beijing, China
Population: 11,509,595


4. São Paulo, Brazil
Population: 11,016,703


5. Seoul, Korea
Population: 9,895,217


6. Moscow, Russia
Population: 10,433,869


7. Dehli, India
Population: 9,817,439


8. Chongqing, China
Population: 9,691,901


9. Istanbul, Turkey
Population: 9,555,719


10. Karachi, Pakistan
Population: 9,339,023

Top 10 Teamwork Plays of 2009

Top 20 funniest exam answers

DID you ever feel board stupid at school?

Today's clueless students bring a whole new meaning to the word.

They've made so many homework howlers that one man couldn't help but put them all in a book, Blackboard Blunders by Richard Benson.

From unfortunate spelling mistakes to hilarious euphemisms, the beauty of these blunders is that the perpetrator is completely unaware of their mistake.

Read on for our top twenty that tickled us.

1) On school reports: My teacher said I was very epidemically bright. I was prowed!

2) On art classes: Today I painted an octopuss with big eyes and eight purple testicles.

3) In his own story: Time seemed to be standing still. Nothing was happening and I was getting scarred. I looked again at my cock. It hadn't moved since I last looked at it.

4) On the choir: In last year's Christmas concert, Linzie played the main prat. I played one of the smaller prats and I would like to have a bigger prat this year.

5) On Geography: In Scandinavia , the Danish people come from Denmark, the Norweigans come from Norway and the Lapdancers come from Lapland.

6) On charity work: I feel sorry for the people in Africa. They are staring to death. They only get a little groin to eat. I wouldn't like to eat groin.

7) On maths: The total is when you add up all the numbers and a remainder is an animal that pulls Santa on his Sleigh.

8) On automobiles: Helicopters are cleverer than planes . Not only can they fly through the air, they can also hoover.

9) On history: Sir Walter Raleigh circumcised the world with a big clipper.

10) On the 1930s: If you had no money in the 1930s, you could get some by going to a porn shop. The man at the porn shop had three balls hanging over his entrance.

11) On World War Two: Sometimes in the war they take prisners and keep them ostridges until the war is over.Some prisoners end up in consterpation camps.

12) On ancient history:In a field near my house, they think they have found the remains of a roman fart.

13) On the holidays: When it gets near Christmas, I get choclat penis. I get one every morning.

14) A prayer: Dear God, My wish is that there would be pis all over the world. Make the wars end and let people live in pis all their lives.

15) On illness: I went to see the doctor because I have awful crap. I woke up with crap all down my leg yesterday and I cuddent put my foot down.

16.) On hobbies: My hobby is insest. I learnt about all kinds of insest from a book I bort at a bring and buy sale. I speshly like aunts.

17.) On nuclear anxiety: My dad talked about weapons of mass destruction while eating dinner. I'm worried about this. I don't want to get bumbed.

18) What she did at the weekend: This wikend we went shopping. I got some new shoes and mummy got a new pair of tits.

19) When I grow up: I would like to have lots of babys when I am a grown-up. My mummy says I need to wait until I'm older but Tina across the raod has lots of babys and she isn't grown up. She also has lots of husbends.

20) Bedtime: It is verry noisy for me at night because we live above a pube.

World's top 10 brands

The business of building brands is a tough one. And it takes years of hard work, great service, great product, sustained socially responsible work and a lot more to create a brand that people hold store by. In today's ever-changing economy, entrepreneurs seek specialists' help to launch their products and create brands.

Often big corporate houses cough up millions to help bolster their brands so that consumers remember who they are. Once a brand succeeds in striking a chord with the consumers, half the marketing battle is won.

Here are the world's top 10 corporate brands:

1. Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is one of the most recognised brands and logos in the world. Its brand value is worth $66,667 million. Its parent company is Coca-Cola.

It was created in Atlanta, Georgia by Dr John S Pemberton. The bottle is among the most recognisable icons in the world, its design standing for the youthful exuberance of United States of America.

Coca-Cola was first offered as a fountain beverage by mixing Coca-Cola syrup with carbonated water.

The Coca-Cola script was designed by an amateur, Frank Robinson. Coca-Cola was registered as a trademark in 1887 and by 1895 Coca-Cola was being sold in every state and territory in the US. In 1899, the company began franchised bottling operations in the US.

2. IBM

The company's brand value is worth $59,031 million. Its parent company is International Business Machines.

In 1972, the company logo, designed by Paul Rand had horizontal stripes replacing the solid letters to suggest 'speed and dynamism.'

A resurgent tech-services business together with highly profitable software edges Big Blue ahead of rival Microsoft.

3. Microsoft

Its brand value is worth $59,007 million. Its parent company is Microsoft.

Microsoft Corporation is an US multinational computer technology corporation with over 79,000 employees in 102 countries. It develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices.

Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA, its best selling products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software.

Windows Vista bugs and Apple's withering 'I'm a Mac' ads challenge the software giant despite its monopoly. It is now rolling out a new ad campaign.

4. GE

GE is the fourth most recognised brand in the world, worth $53,086 million. Its parent company is General Electric.

The group CEO Jeffrey Immelt introduced a set of changes in the presentation of the brand commissioned in 2004, after he took the reins as chairman.

The modifications included a new corporate colour palette, small modifications to the GE logo, a new customised font (GE Inspira), and a new slogan, 'imagination at work' replacing the longtime slogan 'we bring good things to life', composed by David Lucas.

The changes were designed by Wolff Olins.

5. Nokia

Its brand value is $35,942 million. Its parent company is Nokia.

Though iPhone has the buzz, Nokia phones sell eight times more.

Nokia Corporation has been in the telecommunications business since the 1960s and has become a global leader of the industry.

The original Nokia logo was designed in Tampere in 1865. It went through many modifications since then.

Therefore, when it came to designing their logo, Nokia Co. made every effort to make its logo represent the company's mission. And thus, 'Nokia Connecting People' logo came into being.

6. Toyota

Its brand value is $34,050 million. Its parent company is Toyota Motor.

The current Toyota mark consists of three ovals: the two perpendicular center ovals represent a relationship of mutual trust between the customer and Toyota.

These ovals combine to symbolise the letter 'T' for Toyota.The space in the background implies a global expansion of Toyota's technology and unlimited potential for the future.

Back in 1936, to coincide with the launch of its eagerly awaited first passenger car, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Ltd. held a public competition to establish a new symbol mark to promote its vehicles.

The company indicated that the new design should convey the feeling of speed. Twenty-seven thousand entrants answered the call and submitted their ideas to Toyoda.

The winning design led to a change in the name of the automobiles and plants from 'Toyoda' to 'Toyota.' The changed name was chosen because the number of strokes to write Toyota in Japanese (eight) was thought to bring luck and prosperity.

The Model AA, Toyota's first passenger car, became the first automobile to use the new name.

7. Intel

Its brand value is worth $31,261 million. Its parent company is Intel.

The original Intel logo with a 'dropped-e' in it was created by Silicon Valley pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, 39 years ago as they were forming their new 'integrated electronics' company.

In 1991, the company introduced the 'Intel Inside' slogan with the Intel logo.

The company's sales are strong and Intel still pays to place its logo in the ads of customers like Apple and Dell, but the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the practice.

8. McDonald's

Its brand value is worth $31,049 million. Its parent company is McDonald's.

McDonald's Corporation is one of the largest chains of fast food in the world.

It mostly sells burgers and fries but has recently introduced fancy coffees, breakfast sandwiches, and wraps.

The McDonald's Golden Arches logo was introduced in 1962. It was created by Jim Schindler to resemble new arch shaped signs on the sides of the restaurants. He merged the two golden arches together to form the famous 'M' now recognised throughout the world.

The McDonald's name was added to the logo in 1968.

While the physical arches were dropped out from all the restaurants' building design, the Golden Arches have remained in the McDonald's logo.

9. Disney

Its brand value is worth 29,251 million. Its parent company is Walt Disney.

Co-founded by Walter Elias Disney, the Walt Disney Company today has branched out to various entertainment studios, theme parks, products and other media productions with an annual revenue of approximately $30 billion.

The Walt Disney logo is a 'stylised version of the founder's signature' that signifies the brand name and promises secure, cheerful and quality American mainstream entertainment.

Other than the regular logo, the company uses different logos on its different products. A castle on a blue background version of the Walt Disney logo is used for the movie releases and as the curtain-raiser to its films.

10. Google

Its brand value is worth $25,590 million. Its parent company is Google.

Google Inc, a technology company, maintains index of web sites and other online content for users, advertisers, Google network members, and other content providers.

Its automated search technology helps users to obtain instant access to relevant information from its online index.

The company provides targeted advertising and Internet search solutions, as well as intranet solutions via an enterprise search appliance.

World's top 10 currencies

In the world of foreign exchange, currency trading is the name of the game. The term 'top currencies' is subjective and depends on the method used to trade and the investor's risk tolerance. Strictly speaking, there is no 'best' or 'top' currency, but there certainly are currencies that are the most profitable to trade in.

1. US dollar

The US dollar is the most dominant currency unit today, despite its decline and shakiness in the recent past. In fact, all currencies are measured using the US dollar as the standard. In quantified terms, about 90 per cent of transactions worldwide involve the US dollar.

At present, the US dollar remains the world's foremost reserve currency.

The US dollar has been adopted and in some cases used as the official currency in many different territories and countries.

This process of using one country currency in a different economy is called 'dollarization'.

Dollarization occurred in the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Pitcairn Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

2. Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It accounts for almost 37 per cent of the daily transactions in the Forex market, according to a report.

The states, known collectively as the Eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

The currency is also used in five European countries whereas over 175 million people across the globe use currencies which are pegged to the euro, including more than 150 million people in Africa.

Based on 2008 figures, the Eurozone is the world's second largest economy.

3. Japanese Yen

The Japanese Yen takes the third spot among the most heavily traded currencies. About 20 per cent of the daily transactions in the forex market involve the Japanese Yen.

The word yen stands for 'round object' in Japanese.

The yen was officially adopted by Japan's Meiji government in an Act signed on May 10, 1871. The new currency was introduced in July of that year.

4. British Pound

The British pound, on most occasions, is measured up against the US dollar. It accounts for 17 per cent of the daily Forex transactions.

The official name of the currency is pound sterling. It is used mainly in formal contexts and also when necessary to distinguish the United Kingdom currency from other currencies bearing the same name.

5. Swiss Franc

The Swiss Franc makes in to the round of top 5 most heavily traded currencies in the forex market.

About 6 per cent of the daily transactions in the forex market involve the Swiss franc.

The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein as also in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia.

The Swiss franc is the only version of the franc still issued in Europe.

In the first half of the 19th century, the Swiss Franc was unregulated and considered a highly complicated currency.

Before regulations were imposed in 1850 by the Swiss Federal Constitution, the country had 75 entities and 25 cantons, all producing their own coins.

6. Australian dollar

The Australian dollar takes the number 6 spot in the list accounting for over 4 per cent of all transactions done in the Forex market.

The Australian dollar was popular with currency traders because of high interest rates in Australia.

In 1965, then Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies wished to name the currency 'royal'.

The prime minister came up with various other suggestions -- austral, oz, boomer, roo, kanga, emu, digger, kwid, dinkum and the ming (after his nickname).

The name 'royal' got almost finalised and trial designs were prepared and printed by the Reserve Bank of Australia. But the prime minister's choice of currency name was not approved by the people and was later dropped in favour of the dollar.

7. Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is at no. 7 spot for the list of the most heavily traded currencies globally. The Canadian dollar accounts for over 4 per cent of all transaction in the Forex markets.

Symbol of C$ is used to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.

Following the war of 1812, first paper money, the British Army Bills, were issued in Canada in dollar denominations.

In 1817, the Montreal Bank issued the first banknotes.

In 2000, the Bank of Canada stopped issuing $1,000 notes and began to withdraw them from circulation, to counter money laundering.

8. Swedish Krone

The Swedish Krone makes it in the top 10 list of the most active currencies in the Forex market. It accounts for more than 2 per cent of all the transactions that happen in the Forex market on a daily basis.

The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. The word 'Krone' means crown in English.

It is locally abbreviated kr. The plural form is krono.

The krona replaced the riksdaler riksmynt after the formation of the Scandinavian Monetary Union. The parties to the union were the Scandinavian countries.

9. Hong Kong dollar

The Hong Kong dollar takes the 9th spot of the most heavily traded currency in the Forex market. It accounts for almost 2 per cent of the daily transactions in the Forex market.

In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar currencies.

When Hong Kong was established as a free trading port in 1841, there was no local currency in everyday circulation. Various foreign currencies, including Indian rupees, used to be the popular means of transaction.

10. Norwegian Krone

The Norwegian Krone (kr) completes our list of the 10 most heavily traded currencies in the Forex market. About 1.5 per cent of the daily transactions in the forex market involve the Norwegian Krone.
The plural form is kroner.

The krone was introduced in 1875, replacing the Norwegian speciedaler at a rate of 4 kroner = 1 speciedaler. In doing so, Norway joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union, established in 1873.