In the heats he clocked one minute 0.60 seconds to slice 0.35 seconds from the world mark set by Hungary's Karoly Guttler, also in heats, in the 1993 European Championships in Sheffield, England.
According to NBA policy, a selectee who plays in his team's last game -- as Bryant did, scoring 29 points in Wednesday's win in Minnesota -- has to play in the All-Star game or sit out his next game.
The corporation's entertainment arm, which includes Hollywood movie studio, will split from its publishing business when US financial markets close.Here is our business correspondent Mark Gregory.