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The first beer spa opens in the Czech Republic. Take a bath and feel the benefits! A stray beaver moves into a heated pool. And three siblings -of different ages- all born on the same day? It's happened. Find out more in magazine with Daniela Lazarova.

This week in Mailbox: Radio Prague's listeners in Canada; Czech beer in Australia; Czech pub food; Czech economy, Radio Prague Mailbox quiz. Listeners quoted: Bryan Hiebert, Alan McKay, Canada; Catherine Kraina, Australia; David Eldridge, UK; Mary Lou Krenek, USA.

The Decin practical jokers'club says it will forcibly expel winter from the Czech lands. There's a very smelly taxi on the loose! And, the latest invention: beer on tap in your living room! Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.

The Toyota-Peugeut-Citroen automobile plant (TPCA) in Kolin, east Bohemia, is in line to produce 300,000 cars per year; Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated some of Russia's oil profits could be reinvested in the Czech Republic in areas of science and culture; Cesky telekom will merge with subsidiary Eurotel to form Telefonica O2.

The Prague brewery Branik is to close its doors next year, after over 100 years in the capital. But owner Staropramen is planning to continue making Branik beer at its own brewery in Smichov.

In Business News: new legislation should make bankruptcy proceedings run more smoothly, while a labour code approved this week has been dividing opinion; the OECD gives the Czech Republic advice on how to improve its economy; it seems the Czech Republic may renege on a pledge to increase the share of its power generated from renewable resources; digital broadcasting can now be received by a third of Czech households; and beer exports were up 17 percent last year.

In the business news this week: Czech foreign trade shows its first ever surplus, the Finance Ministry raises its GDP growth forecast as the crown hits a new high against the euro, the government promises almost 4 billion dollars in incentives and Plzensky Prazdroj records a significant increase in foreign sales.

If you have spent time in the Czech Republic, you will know that the beer comes in degrees. Beers have traditionally been sold either as 10 or 12 degree. This may cause confusion to tourists, who often think it refers to alcohol content and must wonder how it is that Czechs don't all have permanent hangovers, but for Czechs "desitka" and "dvanactka" are very much an institution. Now a 'degree war' has broken out. In 2002 Drinks Union, decided to go for a new niche market, and launched its 11 degree Zlatopramen. Market leaders SABMiller have got

Beer is without a doubt one of the Czech Republic's best-known products. It attracts thousands to visit the country but Czech brews are also increasingly available abroad. While domestic consumption remains roughly the same, export figures are growing by the year. Last year the volume of exported Czech beer reached a record 3 million hectolitres.

Czech breweries for the first time exported more than 3 million hectolitres (66 million gallons) of beer in 2005, with foreign sales representing almost 16 percent of production, the business daily Hospodarske noviny reported on Wednesday, citing figures it obtained from companies. Alongside traditional export markets, such as Germany, Slovakia and Britain, Czech beer boosted its sales in newer markets, such as Russia.