Abuse of government-issued credit card privileges made the headlines in the U. S. and Canada this week. A few days after the U. S. General Accountability Office reported widespread charging of unauthorized items among federal employees, a Canadian bureaucrat made news by charging $230,000 to her state-issued credit card to buy souvenir coins which she deposited in her personal bank account. Veronica Topic, 24, later withdrew the money, purchased electronic gadgets and auctioned it on eBay. The Canada Border Services Agency employee even had the gumption to have the laptops, Palm Pilots and other gizmos delivered to her office, which caused raised eyebrows among her officemates.

Police are searching for a telephone prankster who is calling up child welfare officials claiming to be soccer star David Beckham and offering to work with under-privileged children. The pseudo Beckham has also promised to take the youngsters to watch the 32-year-old former England captain's new team, the LA Galaxy. After receiving more than a dozen calls, the excited LA County and Sheriff's Department offices contacted Beckham's representatives, who found out that the soccer star did not make the calls.

Next time you plan to go for a long drive with your lover, take a big vehicle like a hummer, as a new poll has found that 70 percent of Americans surveyed want to take their lovemaking into their cars this summer, preferably a bigger one. A new Lifeskool TV poll from the On Demand TV network Wednesday recently conducted a "Cars and Summer Romance Survey" of 1,000 men and women. Nearly seven of 10 people responded they want to have sex in a car this season and 49 percent admitted to having done so since their school days.

A 38-year-old Chris Donald, a British mechanic by profession, claims that he likes to have sex with cars. He has had sex with more than 30 different car models, two boats and a jet ski in the last 20 years. "A nice car. . . is a feast for the senses. It's about smells, feelings and tastes. If I see a gorgeous Mercedes I know I'd love to jump into bed with it," Chris told to The Sun newspaper.

Jilted by his girlfriend, a former New York corrections officer started stealing expensive cars like Mercedes Benz and BMW. However, a judge took pity on Charles James Jr. and imposed only a six-month stretch in jail. James, who lives in the New Brighton neighborhood on Staten Island, was first charged with stealing a Mercedes-Benz in Manhattan. He also stole a BMW after he was free after bailing out of jail. The Staten Island Advance reported that the BMW was being used for test drives at a charity event on Long Island.