Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd., a major Taiwan rubber tire maker for automobiles, bicycles and other vehicles, recently announced that it would expand into the lubricant oil and video game software markets. According to general manager Chen Jung-hwa, the lubricants will be produced by a mainland China company and by Esso in the U.S., and will be sold under the brand name "Maxxis". The company also plans to establish a software company called Maxxis Technology Co. to develop 3D video game software. The first video game product is scheduled to be unveiled in July. It is purported to be a 3D off-road biking game that will be sold through the company's existing worldwide sales channels and given away in promotional deals. In addition, Cheng Shin is busy negotiating other joint projects. Among them is cooperation with U.S. Sony, whereby U.S. Sony has agreed to a deal to include a picture scene of the Maxxis brand in their new ATV PlayStation 2 game title. Cheng Shin predicts an increase in profits this year to approximately NT$15 billion, which would be a 5.63% increase over last year's revenues of NT$14.2 billion. (Report based on information from CENS)