TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co <7267.T> said on Wednesday it would launch a new, low-cost hybrid car in Japan, North America and Europe in early 2009 as it seeks to cut the lead of Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> in the green car race.

Despite the pressure of record-high oil prices and concerns over climate change, fuel-efficient and low-emission hybrids still occupy a small niche in the global car market, partly due to their higher costs for both consumers and automakers.

The Norwegian electric car producer TH!NK has reached across the Atlantic to establish TH!NK North America.

The new venture was announced at the 2008 FORTUNE Brainstorm Green Conference held in Pasadena, California, that brought chief executives from all over North America together to talk about the business opportunities.

The Vectrix is a 100% electric scooter that is available for sale in the U.S. This bike goes 62 mph, has a claimed range of 68 miles, and it accelerates faster than most cars at the stoplight. The Vectrix is powered by a low-mounted, 3.7 kilowatt NiMH battery pack that re-charges to 80 or 90 percent of capacity in two hours.

Tim Finnigan, a professor of ocean engineering at the University of Sydney in Australia designed a radical oceanic energy collector inspired by the design of shark tails. Mimicking the successful evolutionary design of the fish species, he constructed a device that seizes the power of the sea. “I realized the systems that function the best are the ones that already exist there,” said Finnigan.

On May 19, 2008, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) opened a public comment period for the most sweeping changes to its LEED Rating System since its original launch in 2000. The changes, which apply to all the nonresidential LEED rating systems that have been formally released, are largely in line with the plan that USGBC laid out at the 2007 Greenbuild conference in Chicago