NATIONAL: Charlie Brown, Nina Maya and Gina Kim are about to unravel the lucrative purse strings of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) fashion market.

<p>MELBOURNE:&nbsp;One of Australia's leading shopping centre's is aiming to set a billion dollar record. </p>

NEW ZEALAND: A collaborative cluster of more thana dozen companies has been appointed the official apparel supplier for the New Zealand 2008 Olympic team.

SYDNEY: A delegation of leading Italian designers, jewellery makers and artisans is set to make its way down under.

QUEENSLAND: The Australian town better known for its blondes, beers and beaches has broken with tradition.

PERTH: An unusual collaboration between urban and landscape design and jewellery has resulted in a ground-breaking exhibit of wearable ornamentation.

MELBOURNE: Bag and accessories label Catherine Manuell Design (CMD) has unveiled a vibrant new range created in collaboration with leading Aboriginal artists.

NATIONAL: Australian small fashion businesses are missing out on growth opportunities because they don't realise how quickly, easily and cheaply they could establish their own website.

SYDNEY:Designer shopping destination The Strand has fortified its market position with three new high-end store openings.

<p>NATIONAL :&nbsp;The Autore Group has struck gold in Las Vegas.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>MELBOURNE: Parisian fashion brand ZOE tee&rsquo;s opened its first Australian store in Melbourne&rsquo;s Little Collins Street on October 20.</p>

<p>HONG KONG: Cult Australian denim label Nobody menswear collection has been confirmed as the best selling line of the season by Hong Kong&rsquo;s leading department store, Lane Crawford.&nbsp; </p>

NATIONAL: The online social networking and cultural phenomenon known as MySpace.com has unveiled its own fashion section.

SYDNEY: The Australian arm of Fashion Group International has lined up a who's who of big name designers to speak at the group's international conference in Sydney next month.

When a designer and his accountant mate decided to go into business, little did they know that two labels and 20 years down the track they'd still be learning from each other, as Tracey McEldowney reports.

I know I'm in danger of sounding like an old fart by admitting this but that global, interactive computer-game-cum-freakazoid-nerdy experience called Second Life gives me the creeps.