FUSIONPOLIS has become Fusionopolis.
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) has added an 'O' - and an extra syllable - to the name of its upcoming multi-million-dollar research 'city'. An A*Star spokesman, calling the name change a 'natural evolution', explained that the agency's overseas partners and associates - especially those from countries where English is the native language - have been pronouncing 'Fusionpolis' as 'Fusionopolis'. 'It seemed natural to add the 'O' even though it wasn't in the name then,' she said.
The first phase of the re-christened Fusionopolis is set to open in 2008.
The 120,000 sq m building will house the Science and Engineering Research Council and some research institutes, including the data storage and manufacturing technology institutes.
The name change will, thankfully, not be costly.
Since the building is not ready for operations, letterheads and namecards have not been printed, and changes to the agency's website were done 'quite easily', said A*Star.
A new batch of brochures reflecting the new name have been produced.
'We thought it better to change the spelling, to standardise how it is read,' said the A*Star spokesman.
