Products with an \(M_ 3\)-factor (Q1191863)

\textit{K. Morita} [Note on products of normal spaces with metric spaces (unpublished, 1964)] and \textit{M. E. Rudin} and \textit{M. Starbird} [General Topol. Appl. 5, 235-248 (1975; Zbl 0305.54010)] proved the theorem: Assume \(X\) to be metric, and \(Y\) to be normal and countably paracompact. Then \(X\times Y\) is normal if and only if \(X\times Y\) is countably paracompact. Generalizing this theorem, \textit{K. Nagami} [Tôhoku Math. J., II. Ser. 21, 39-46 (1969; Zbl 0183.274)] and \textit{T. Przymusiński} [Fundamenta Math. 91, 161-165 (1976; Zbl 0336.54017)] showed that \(X\times Y\) can be replaced by an open subset \(G\) of \(X\times Y\). Later, \textit{T. Hoshina} [ibid. 124, 143-153 (1984; Zbl 0567.54006)] and \textit{A. Bešlagić} and \textit{K. Chiba} [ibid. 128, 99-112 (1987; Zbl 0637.54017)] verified that the metric factor in the above results can be replaced by a Lašnev space (a Lašnev space is the closed image of a metric space). Lašnev spaces are \(M_ 1\), hence are \(M_ 3\). So the question whether the Lašnev space in the above results can be replaced by an \(M_ 3\)-space seems natural. Here we show that the answer to this question is ``yes'' for small \(M_ 3\)-spaces.