According to Singapore news site Singapore365.com, PropertyGuru has won its domain dispute case against iProperty in Malaysia. The disputed domain name in question was "propertyguru.com.my" which was registered by Think Media, a company that had been acquired by iProperty, in May 2011. The panel ruled:

 - The "propertyguru.com.my" domain name is identical to PropertyGuru’s "PropertyGuru" trademark, and is closely and confusingly similar to PropertyGuru’s "propertyguru.com.sg and "propertyguru.com.my" trade marks

- PropertyGuru has established goodwill and reputation with end users and real estate developers in the "PropertyGuru" trade mark in Malaysia since mid 2008

- iProperty has used and/or registered the "propertyguru.com.my" domain in bad faith

- iProperty, being a competitor of PropertyGuru, was fully aware of PropertyGuru’s prior use, goodwill and reputation in the "PropertyGuru" trade mark in Malaysia

- The registration and use by iProperty of "home-guru.com.my" which is closely similar to “homeguru.com.my” belonging to HomeGuru Sdn Bhd, the Malaysian company which forms part of the PropertyGuru group of companies further supports an inference of bad faith by iProperty in using and registering the “propertyguru.com.my” domain

- iProperty has failed to demonstrate any rights and legitimate interests in the "propertyguru.com.my" domain name

As a result, iProperty will have to transfer the domain name "propertyguru.com.my" to PropertyGuru by Aug 4th, 2011.

So your big TOEFL Singapore exam date is looming closer and closer. You’re beginning to feel the heat yet struggling to focus on revision. An incredibly useful practice exercise that will simultaneously improve your speaking, reading and note taking skills is practicing summarizing texts. 

Follow the steps below to see how verbal summaries can help boost your TOEFL score.
1. Open up an English newspaper, browse through to find an article that interests you
2. Start by skimming and scanning the text in front of you
3. Note down key words, key phrases and any important details
4. Make a note of new vocabulary words to look up later, but firstly try and guess the meaning using the context of the word
5. Once you’ve done this ask yourself, what is the topic of the piece? What is the purpose of this writing? What is the tone? What are the important ideas?
6. Now put the article to one side
7. Find  a listening partner, you cat, plant, fish or anything you can find to focus on
8. From the notes you’ve made, give yourself one minute to summarize the article
9. Afterwards, go back to the original article and critic your own work.  Did you mention of the important points, what about important details? Is there anything I left out? If necessary, try it one more time to get the summary perfect!

Good luck in your TOEFL exam!

Are you preparing for your TOEFL exams? Well, here are some of the most common mistakes made by test takers in the Speaking section:

1. Misusing connectors such as: ‘although’, ‘despite’, ‘whereas’, ‘in spite of’, ‘since’, ‘as’, ‘therefore’, etc.

2. Misunderstanding the question and speaking about an irrelevant topic or not following the instruction completely. Here is an example of how the following instruction could be misinterpreted or not followed appropriately by some test takers:

‘Some college students choose to take courses in a variety of subject areas in order to get a broad education. Others choose to focus on a single subject area in order to have a deeper understanding of that area’. Which approach to course selection do you think is better for students and why?

Some TOEFL iBT test takers would focus on just one approach towards studying and explain why they would make such a choice.  However, a more complete, in-depth response would discuss the pros and cons of both view points, before finally stating a personal preference.

3.    Numerous repetitions of the same word instead of using synonyms.  Consider the following prompt:
Some people prefer to watch sports on TV to practicing them. Others prefer to exercise than watch sports on television. Which option do you prefer?

Some test takers would use the phrase ‘exercise’ repetitively. To demonstrate a higher level of proficiency, they should use synonymous expressions such ‘do sports’, ‘become active’, ‘enjoy sports in an active manner’, ‘practice’, ‘join the football team’, ’go for a swim’ and ‘go to the gym’.

iProperty is the newest Singapore property and real estate classifieds. The company is listed on the Australian bourse, is very established in Malaysia and aspires to be a major player in Asia.

Considering the current record property prices in Singapore, with the shortage in office space and private condo hitting SGD$5,000 per square foot, it maybe a timely move - people looking high and low for a good buy will stumble on iProperty.

Besides the general listings, there are lots of useful information like buying tips, HDB guidelines and home loan interest rates.

Looking for a private apartment? You can start by browsing iProperty’s directory of Singapore Private Condos.