San Francisco - Two US men's claim that they stumbled upon the carcass of a Bigfoot, a legendary half-man, half-ape creature, has been met with scepticism.

The two men appeared at a press conference Friday in Palo Alto, California, to present two blurry photographs - one of the head of what they claimed was a Bigfoot and another of a similar living creature they said followed them in the woods of the south-eastern US state of Georgia.

The fact that Matt Whitton, 31, and Rick Dyer, 28, appeared at the press conference with a self-named Bigfoot specialist who promoted what turned out to be a fake Bigfoot discovery 13 years ago didn't help their case as they were peppered with questions from incredulous reporters.

San Francisco  - T-Mobile is to launch the first phone based on Google's Android design on September 17, in hopes that the new device will compete with Apple's iPhone, Wired magazine reported Friday.

The smartphone will be manufactured by Taiwan-based High Tech Computer, and will have a large touch screen that slides out to reveal a five-row QWERTY keyboard. The device, which will be called the G1, will sell for 150 dollars to T-Mobile customers in the first week of launch before it is offered to other customers at a higher price.

San Francisco  - A California utility company has signed a deal to build the world's two biggest solar power plants in central California with solar panels covering 32.5 square kilometres and producing 800 megawatts of electricity, it was announced Friday.

Pacific Gas & Electric will use the massive solar facilities to help it meet state requirements to generate 20 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010.

San Francisco  - Apple will sell 4.47 million iPhone 3Gs in the current quarter, according a projection issued Wednesday by analyst Gene Munster of the merchant bank Piper Jaffray.

Munster, who is known to be extremely bullish on the sales prospects for Apple's hit communications device, had previously forecast iPhone's fourth quarter sales at 4.1 million.

San Francisco  - The US Navy has agreed to further limit use of low-frequency active sonar to prevent possible harm to whales and other creatures, reports said Wednesday.

The new limits were included in a federal court-approved settlement with environmental groups and would ban the use of the low-frequency active sonar in areas in the Pacific Ocean that are known to be whale breeding grounds and key habitat, such as the Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary off Hawaii.

The Navy must also limit testing seasonally and in coastal areas.

San Francisco  - A German shepherd dog stayed by the body of its owner for six weeks after he committed suicide in remote grasslands in Colorado, the Denver Post reported Wednesday.

The loyal dog, named Cash, survived by eating mice and rabbits, and apart from being dehydrated and skinny, was found to be in good shape.