Hamburg - Having a best friend is especially important to women, a recent representative survey of women aged 25 to 55 in Germany shows.

Asked what really counts in life, 97 per cent answered "having and keeping good friends." In second place was a relationship: 95 per cent of the women questioned said it was especially important to have a long-term partner and to be happy in the relationship.

The study, which appears in the August edition of a lifestyle magazine published in Hamburg, also showed that 91 per cent consider financial independence an important life goal.

Cologne, Germany - Unusual material combinations are coming into style in furniture, according to a trend outlook report published for a furniture trade show in Cologne.

Sydney - It's not surprising that Lebanon-born Keysar Trad has nine children.

His homeland abounds with big families and he simply brought that tradition to Australia with him.

By the same measure, immigrants from China, where the one-child family is the norm, often stick with that paradigm in their new country - even though there is no state apparatus enforcing it.

"It seems that they genuinely prefer it," said Macquarie University demographer Nick Parr.

Munich - German hikers typically are demanding consumers, but they usually aren't materialistic, according to a recent survey.

When they buy an article of clothing to wear while hiking, it has to be of high quality and they tend to keep it for a long time, a survey of 1,002 consumers in Germany found.

The survey showed that the majority of hikers in Germany is female - 59.9 per cent. Compared to average consumers, this group possesses more than an average number of garments designed for their outdoor activity from well-known outdoor brands.

Hamburg - Too lazy to go to the gym? Several gadgets, that can easily be stored under lounge furniture, are on the market to help you keep up the training while you are watching TV or listening to music.

- A balance board is a wooden board with a ball underneath. It might take a little practise to stand on it but with time it can help improve coordination, body balance, foot and waist muscles.

- The Flexi-Bar looks like a bow with a rubber knob on either end. It was developed by physiotherapists. By swinging the gadget, vibrations are created which help to keep the deep spine muscles active, according to the manufacturers.

Hamburg - Are you an oniomaniac - a shopping addict? Up to 10 per cent of all consumers in Western industrialized countries are addicted to shopping to some degree, according to German researchers, who say they have developed the first anti-shopping-addiction therapy that actually works.

Oniomania, the scientific term for "pathological addiction to shopping," was first recognized a century ago by the Leipzig psychiatrist Emil Kraeplin, who wrote a scientific treatise about people in large cities who simply could not resist the urge to buy pretty things which made them feel better - even if they stashed away the items at home unopened, never to be used.