Wal-Mart denied rumors that it had placed a substantial order with a Taiwan supplier for ultra-cheap HD DVD players that could swing the format wars in that direction. A spokesperson for the company said Thursday that reported leaks concerning Taiwan-based consumer electronics manufacturer, Fuh Yuan, partnering with TDK in China to manufacture the $250-299 players, had no merit.

"The article… was full of inaccuracies and we had no participation in it," the spokesman said in an e-mail to PC Magazine . "Most of the facts, including the purchase, were untrue," she added. "Not sure how it originated."

On Thursday, the following statement appeared on Fuh Yuan's site:

"We are sorry to correct the statement that we have two million HD-DVD players order from Wal-Mart and manufactured by China Great Wall Group," Fuh Yuan said. "The actuality is that we had not received yet. We are asked to provide the schedule to Wal-Mart and cost to determine the quantity even more than two million, if the cost is good enough and timing is correct."

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