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Advanced Micro Devices expects revenue for its fourth quarter to be 25 percent lower than its third-quarter revenue, the company announced Thursday. AMD reported third-quarter revenue of US $1.6 billion, not including process technology licensing revenue. In November, AMD said it expected its fourth-quarter revenue to be similar to its third-quarter revenue. Last month, the company reported a narrower loss than expected for the third quarter, a loss of $67 million, compared to a loss of $396 million for the third quarter of 2007. However, revenue for the chip maker is expected to be down for the fourth quarter, due to weaker-than-expected demand across “all geographies and businesses, particularly in the consumer market,” AMD said in a news release.Microsoft confirmed Thursday that it has tapped former Yahoo executive Qi Lu to run its struggling Online Services Group. Lu, formerly Yahoo’s vice president of engineering for the Search and Advertising Technology Group, will take over as president of Microsoft’s Online Services Group on Jan. 5, Microsoft said. Lu left Yahoo in August after 10 years at the company. In his new role at Microsoft, Lu will report to CEO Steve Ballmer. As Lu joins Microsoft, another executive in the OSG will be leaving. Brian McAndrews, the former CEO of digital advertising and services firm aQuantive and senior vice president of Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group, will transition out of Microsoft in the next several months.It’s starting to look like attendance at the upcoming International Consumer Electronics Show will be considerably affected by the financial crisis that has gripped many of the companies the show serves. In late November, a number of Las Vegas properties cut their rates in the hope of filling empty rooms and in the last few days additional hotels have started offering cheaper rates and some hotels have made further reductions. The good news for attendees is that the room rate cuts are retroactive so anyone with a prior booking at a higher rate should be charged the cheaper price. However, the CEA advises attendees to call hotels in advance an ensure this is the case.Third-quarter growth in the global smartphone market was its weakest year-on-year since Gartner started tracking the market, but Apple’s iPhone stood apart with strong gains. The economic climate is affecting sales of higher-end devices, as well, according to Gartner. Thirty-six and a half million smartphones where sold in the third quarter, an 11.5 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Sales grew in the second quarter by about 16 percent over last year. Going forward, Gartner expects the smartphone market to continue to grow but at a slower pace.…And those are the top stories from the IDG Global IT News Update, brought to you by the IDG News Service. I’m Sumner Lemon in Singapore. Join us again later for more news from the world of technology.