WASHINGTON: The US state of Florida plans to issue young mothers with classical music CDs or cassettes to promote the intelligence of their babies through music.

By doing so, Florida would be following Georgia's example, said Goergia Governor Zell Miller in a recent radio interview. Numerous studies, he said, had proved that billions of brain cells form more quickly if a baby listens to music.

The choice of repertoire did not matter too much provided that the music had a soothing effect and a structure which stimulated the brain.

Reactions to the Georgia project in other U.S. States had been most positive, said Miller, and said he was expecting most of them to follow the state's example.

Miller believes that the CDs will be a big hit with mothers, even those from population groups which have not traditionally been used to classical music.

He could not imagine, he said, that anyone would object to their child being successful in life. However,he warned parents not to be too impatient. It would take several years for the effects to be noticeable, he said.

Dolphins' IQ

BOCHUM: Recent experiments have led two scientists in Germany to the conclusion that dolphins are not as intelligent as they were assumed to be.

In fact, they are no more intelligent than rats or pigeons, claim Professor Onur Gunturkun of Bochum, a biopsychologist, and Lorenzo Von Fersen, a behavioural research scientist.

While Prof Gunturkun examined the brains of dead dolphins, Fersen trained with two dolphins and observed their capacity for thought.

The dolphins' remarkably large brains did not, as has often been assumed, enable them to perform great feats of intelligence, said Fersen.

They have only around one-third as many nerve cells in their brain as other mammals, he explained.

Other animals besides dolphins are able to think abstractly and solve problems. According to the two scientists, sometimes they even learn considerably faster.

Many, forexample, understand human sign language and perform the tasks they are instructed to do.

Chimpanzees are the world champions in understanding language, said Fersen.

He has also succeeded in teaching pigeons tricks which otherwise made the smiling dolphins favourites with the general public.

Spencer `bugged'

LONDON: Intruders broke into the Capetown offices of Earl Spencer, brother of Princess Diana, and left bugging devices on his personal telephone line, Spencer's spokeswoman has said. Spencer's files at his office in the South African city were rifled and an electronic listening device was found in the socket of his private phone line, the spokeswoman said on Saturday.

The break-in happened last week while Spencer was in Britain for the opening of a Diana museum at Althrop.