Spy Plane No Longer for Sale

Published: 19 April 2001 y., Thursday
Early Wednesday morning, the online auctioneer had a listing for the U.S. spy plane — which is currently the subject of high-level talks between the United States and China — at the heart of a trans-Pacific controversy. While it may be an obvious prank, eBay, which is usually quick to pull the plug on phony auctions, didn't catch on until about 10:30 ET this morning. Using the seller name of "chingchongwo," Tampa, Fla.-based "MJ Morning Show" staffers began the auction at about 8 a.m. ET Wednesday. The listing includes a photo of the spy plane and a description in broken English saying all the sensitive information had been removed and the electronics smashed (see Web Links, right). "This is USA spy plane that was in collision with my country Chinese jet fighter," the description reads. "I part of the Chinese Military and have complete control over plane." Bidding starts at $1 million, with the winner "responsible for picking up plane." Although it took almost 24 hours for the first bidder to come forward, it later became fast and furious — the highest bid reached $100 million by 8 a.m. ET today. The spy plane itself — the real one — remains on a runway at a Chinese military facility on Hainan Island. The United States wants China to return the plane, which is valued at $80 million.
Šaltinis: abcnews.go.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

Microsoft and Yahoo take on Google

Microsoft's Bing search engine will be the sole provider of search and paid search technology for all of Yahoo's websites. Yahoo will sell premium search ads for both companies. more »

Thales achieves Cat III approval at Bournemouth Airport

Thales UK today announces that its Cat III Instrument Landing System (ILS)1 has received UK approval for installation at Bournemouth Airport. more »

Shell service stations in Germany sign with Wincor for upgraded cash management

Postbank customers can now pay their fuel bills at Shell service stations and withdraw cash as stations in Hamburg, Germany, have been converted to the new technology from Wincor Nixdorf International. more »

Japan's virtual disaster training

Japanese company Crescent has simulated a series of emergency situations that people may have to deal with in the workplace. By practicing with these simulations they can learn how to cope with a real-life crisis. more »

'Hero' to take on the iPhone

The touchscreen device built on Google's Android platform equates to a bold attempt by HTC to take on Apple's popular iPhone - not by creating a copycat - but by building an attractive alternative. more »

ATMs reprogrammed to print out ATM, debit details on receipts

A devious piece of criminal coding that has been quietly at work in a clutch of ATMs at banks in Russia and Ukraine has recently been discovered. more »

MasterCard to launch mobile P-to-P payments, money transfer

In the person-to-person transfer business, text messaging is so 2008. more »

Wincor Nixdorf pioneers bank branch transformation in Indonesia

Bank Central Asia, one of Indonesia's largest banks, has partnered with Wincor Nixdorf International to rejuvenate its branch network. more »

Japan's robo-chefs

What's cooking at Tokyo's International Food Machinery and Technology Expo? For this robo-chef, it's okonomiaki, Japanese pancakes. more »

Signing into school with the iPhone

Taking attendance at Aoyama University used to be a chore, but no longer as the Japanese school is giving over 500 iPhones to students and faculty in an effort to enhance the classroom experience. more »