Trojan virus steals banking info

Hundreds of thousands of people have been hit by a globe-trotting virus that has been scooping up bank login details.

Trojan virus steals bank info

Hundreds of thousands of people have been hit by a globe-trotting virus that has been scooping up bank login details.

Hatched turtles go on sea journey

Crowds came to a sea turtle sanctuary in Mexico to help set some 7,000 hatchlings begin their journey into the sea.

Ancient iceman probably has no modern relatives

LONDON (Reuters) - "Otzi," Italy's prehistoric iceman, probably does not have any modern day descendants, according to a study published Thursday.

Boost for easier web login plans

Microsoft and Google unveil plans for tools that may let people use one set of login credentials for many different websites.

MTV and Activision face off in battle of the brands

DENVER (Billboard) - Now that "Rock Band" publisher MTV Networks just scored the Beatles catalog for a new videogame, announced days after the October 26 release of Activision's "Guitar Hero World Tour," the stage is set for another battle of the bands between the two music-based game franchises.

Nielsen finds strong TV-Internet usage overlap

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nearly a third of all U.S. household Internet activity takes place while the user watches television, suggesting new and old media often share rather than compete for attention, the Nielsen Company said in a report on Friday.

Mformation sues RIM for patent infringement

TORONTO (Reuters) - Handset management software firm Mformation Technologies said on Friday it has sued BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, claiming patent infringement.

IBM sues to block executive from moving to Apple

(Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp sued a top executive on Thursday to prevent him from joining Apple Inc , court documents showed.

Mali musician defends game song

A Malian musician defends a track that is being removed from a Sony video game out of concern it may offend Muslims.

Italians grow 'greener' olives

A range of technologies are being installed at an Italian Olive farm in a bid to cut CO2 emissions, from electric farm vehicles to sun-reflecting paint.

Pope sees physicist Hawking at evolution gathering

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict told a gathering of scientists including the British cosmologist Stephen Hawking on Friday that there was no contradiction between believing in God and empirical science.

Gadgets still a centerpiece of holiday shopping

NEW YORK/ATLANTA (Reuters) - Shoppers who crave electronics goodies, but are increasingly short on cash, may sacrifice a gym membership or movie popcorn just to get a new gadget like the "Google phone" this holiday season.

Google may scrap Yahoo deal: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google Inc may decide to scrap its proposed partnership with Yahoo Inc rather than accept government-imposed antitrust restrictions on it, according to two sources familiar with the companies' discussions.

Green gadgets aim to woo eco-aware shoppers

LONDON (Reuters) - Gadget makers showed off their green credentials at a technology show in London on Friday to try to tempt consumers worried about soaring fuel bills, climate change and the financial crisis.

Hatched turtles set off on sea journey

Crowds came to a sea turtle sanctuary in the Mexican state of Chiapas to help set some 7,000 hatchlings off on their journey into the sea.

Looks count for women running for office: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women had better appear attractive as well as competent if they want to be elected to political office, according to research published on Thursday.

Financial crisis spells business for lending sites

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - One woman wants to pay off medical bills. An Ohio couple wants $5,000 to start a home business. An Illinois college student needs help with tuition.

Nintendo sees overseas DSi launch by next summer

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co Ltd will likely launch a new model of its top-selling handheld player, the DS, in overseas markets by the summer of 2009, President Satoru Iwata said.

Qaeda wants Republicans, Bush "humiliated": video

DUBAI (Reuters) - An al Qaeda leader has called for President George W. Bush and the Republicans to be "humiliated," without endorsing a party in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, according to an Internet video posting.

Yahoo, Google may walk away from search deal: report

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc and Yahoo Inc could announce a decision to walk away from their search deal by the middle of next week, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Appeals court rejects business method patents

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. patent appeals court ruled on Thursday that business methods, such as Amazon.com Inc's one-click to buy goods on the Internet, cannot be patented.

U.S. appeals court rejects business method patents

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. patent appeals court ruled on Thursday that business methods, such as Amazon.com Inc's one-click to buy goods on the Internet, cannot be patented.

Sony recalls PC batteries

SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said five PC makers including Hewlett-Packard Co and Toshiba Corp will recall 100,000 computer battery packs made by the Japanese electronics maker due to a fire hazard.

Datz launches MP3 download deal

A new online music store has launched which is the first subscription site to let you copy MP3 files to a CD or other music player with no strings attached.

Split-screen settlement for dueling TV viewers

HOLLYWOOD (Hollywood Reporter) - The classic dilemma: You are home for the evening. You wish to watch, say, a comedy, on TV, but a family member would rather watch something else.

U.S. ruling may curb business method patents

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has rejected patenting a way to smooth energy costs in a closely watched decision that could narrow the scope of "business method" patents.

Quakes give trampoline effect: Japanese study

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Earthquakes not only shake the ground from side to side, they hoist it up and down as though the earth is bouncing on a trampoline, researchers in Japan found.

Giant bat makes comeback in Tanzania

OSLO (Reuters) - A giant bat with a wingspan up to 5.5 feet has made a comeback from the brink of extinction in Tanzania in a rare conservation success, an environmental group said on Friday.

Looking for a Halloween scare? Try a videogame

RALEIGH, NC (Reuters) - Looking for more than ghosts and ghouls to liven up Halloween? The latest videogames are offering plenty of scary options and new terror is waiting just around the corner.

Researchers find more Alzheimer's genes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers combing the human gene map have found four more areas that affect the risk of Alzheimer's disease and believe the studies are starting to point to new and better treatments.

Hubble telescope back in business

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The Hubble Space Telescope is back in business after a month of problems, but preparing spare equipment to keep the orbital observatory running will force NASA to delay its final servicing mission beyond February, officials said on Thursday

Nasty fungus may be killing thousands of bats

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A previously unknown fungus that thrives in chilly temperatures may be the culprit behind the deaths of at least 100,000 bats hibernating in caves in the northeastern United States, scientists said on Thursday.

Foo Fighters rock for Blackberry in L.A

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - The Foo Fighters brought their arena rock show to a much smaller stage Wednesday at the 1,400-capacity Avalon in Los Angeles, during a private concert with Queens Of The Stone Age to help promote a new Blackberry.

Gene study shows the Phoenicians still with us

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The seafaring Phoenicians left the world more than a legacy of alphabets and purple dye -- they left their DNA scattered throughout Mediterranean men, as well, according to a report published on Thursday.

Motorola eyes phone weakness, job cuts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motorola Inc warned its fourth-quarter results would miss expectations and said its struggling mobile phone business would weaken further in 2009, forcing the company to delay its plan to spin off the unit and cut 3,000 jobs.

Motorola eyes phone weakness, job cuts; delays spinoff

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motorola Inc warned its fourth-quarter results would miss expectations and said its struggling mobile phone business would weaken further in 2009, forcing the company to delay its plan to spin off the unit and cut 3,000 jobs.

MTV strikes deal to use Beatles songs in video game

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MTV Networks announced on Thursday a deal to use songs by 60s group The Beatles in a custom video game similar to its popular "Rock Band" video, marking the band's first key plunge into digital music.

Intense care for premature babies risky: studies

BOSTON (Reuters) - Some of the intense care given to the smallest premature infants may be a little too intense, suggested two studies published on Wednesday.

MTV strike deal to use Beatles songs on "Rock Band"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MTV Networks announced on Thursday a deal to use songs by 60s band The Beatles in a custom video game similar to its popular "Rock Band" video, marking the band's first key plunge into digital music.

Handset market stalls, Christmas fears rise

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top mobile phone makers fear further weakening demand after reporting third-quarter growth grinding to a standstill, with only Samsung Electronics gaining market share through price cuts.

Archaeologists report finding oldest Hebrew text

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Israel said on Thursday they had unearthed the oldest Hebrew text ever found, while excavating a fortress city overlooking a valley where the Bible says David slew Goliath.

Rise above economic woes with the hover chair

LONDON (Reuters) - A "Star Wars" inspired hover chair, a speedy electric motorbike and stereo speakers that cost as much as a small house are among the attractions at Britain's biggest gadget show in London this weekend.

Looking for a Halloween scare? Try the newest videogames

RALEIGH, NC (Reuters) - Looking for more than ghosts and ghouls to liven up Halloween? The latest videogames are offering plenty of scary options and new terror is waiting just around the corner.

Banks, telcos to decide on wallet-phones

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The potentially lucrative business of mobile phone wallets is waiting for banks and telecom operators to agree on each one's role and possible revenue flow in the future.

Hover chair hopes to rise above woes

LONDON (Reuters) - A "Star Wars" inspired hover chair, a 125 mph electric motorbike and hi-fi speakers that cost as much as a small house are among the attractions at Britain's biggest gadget show in London this weekend.

Sci Fi game for videogame challenge

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sci Fi Channel has ordered a reality competition that pits 12 contestants against one another in a series of video game challenges to find the best all-around gamer in the United States.

Bosses 'should embrace Facebook'

Companies should not dismiss social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo as merely time-wasting, says a study.

The creep of nanotech

Oct 28 - UK businesses that are using nanotechnology to fight bird flu, diagnose asthma instantly and identify cancer cells have been recognized with Innovation Awards.

Tivo, Netflix partner on Web streaming

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix Inc said on Wednesday it reached a deal with TiVo Inc to further deliver on its goal of offering Netflix's Web streaming service directly to televisions through many devices.

Intense care for premature babies risky

BOSTON (Reuters) - Some of the intense care given to the smallest premature infants may be a little too intense, suggested two studies published on Wednesday.

Banks, telcos to decide on cellphone-wallets

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The potentially lucrative business of cellphone wallets is waiting for banks and telecom operators to agree on each one's role and possible revenue flow in the future.

MTV expected to announce Beatles "Rock Band" deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MTV Networks is expected to announce on Thursday a deal to use songs by The Beatles in its popular "Rock Band" video game series, marking the band's first major plunge into the digital music world.

Mega-tsunami hit southeast Asia 700 years ago

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A mega-tsunami struck southeast Asia 700 years ago rivaling the deadly one in 2004, two teams of geologists said after finding sedimentary evidence in coastal marshes.

Touchscreens heat up enthusiasm for gadgets

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More and more shoppers are willing to spend on gadgets with a touchscreen -- even if it means they lose on extra features and better quality.

Mercury was once alive with volcanoes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - While it seems like a geologically dead planet today, early in its history tiny Mercury may have been a caldron of volcanic activity, NASA scientists said on Wednesday.

FCC member optimistic airwaves proposal will pass

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top federal regulator said on Wednesday he is optimistic communications officials will approve a plan, backed by Microsoft Corp and Google Inc, to open soon-to-be vacant television airwaves.

Motorola plans job cuts, focus on Google software: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motorola Inc's co-chief executive, Sanjay Jha, plans to make more job cuts and simplify how it makes devices, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Tuesday.

Space shuttle crew practices for next launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Seven astronauts climbed aboard the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour on Wednesday in a practice run for a mission to deliver equipment needed to prepare the International Space Station for a larger crew.

Yahoo, AOL in due diligence on combination: source

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc and Time Warner Inc's AOL unit are engaged in "meaningful" due diligence about a possible combination, but a deal is not imminent, a person familiar with the talks said on Wednesday.

South African officials say new virus is contained

LONDON (Reuters) - A new virus that has killed four people and infected another in South Africa appears to have been contained, according to the most recent information posted by South African authorities on their website.

HP launches $400 mini-notebook as it plays catch-up

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co on Wednesday will unveil a new mini-notebook in a move to gain ground in the fastest-growing PC category, which until now has been dominated by its smaller rivals.

Mobile gaming market troubles to continue: Nokia

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The global economic slowdown will hurt the mobile gaming market this year and next after it already suffered an unexpected slump last year, the head of gaming at Nokia said on Wednesday.

Social networking sites "good for businesses"

LONDON (Reuters) - Good news for workers addicted to Facebook, Bebo and MySpace -- a British think-tank says bosses should not stop their staff using social networking sites because they could actually benefit their firms.

Microsoft warns of financial crisis email scams

LONDON (Reuters) - Internet fraudsters will try to exploit the global financial crisis by sending fraudulent emails purporting to offer cash-strapped consumers new mortgages, loans or money from failed banks, a Microsoft executive said on Wednesday.

Consumer group opposes Google, Yahoo partnership

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Public Interest Group, a consumer organization, is opposing Google's plan to share advertising with rival Yahoo, saying it could harm consumer privacy, according to a letter sent to the U.S. attorney general, a copy of which was given to Reuters.

EA takes FIFA 09, Spore Origin to N-Gage this year

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Electronic Arts will launch hit titles EA Sports FIFA 09, Spore Origins and Monopoly Here & Now for Nokia's N-Gage gaming service in time for Christmas sales, the U.S. video games firm said on Wednesday.

LinkedIn offers new apps in office push

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - LinkedIn, the career-oriented social networking website, on Wednesday will unveil an assortment of applications from big names like Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc in a push to integrate LinkedIn's platform into the daily workings of corporate life.

Bosses 'ignore toxic data risk'

Bosses must stop leaving data security to the 'IT boys' and take responsibility, the Information Commissioner has said.

A closer look at Windows 7

Software developers have been given a preview of Microsoft's next version of Windows.

Tech firms warn of lower profits

Economic worries prompt Texas Instruments and Sun Microsystems to warn of lower profits.

Japan unveils maid robot

Oct 28 - A Japanese robot research centre have created a robot that can do household chores.

Indian space countdown begins

India has begun the countdown for its first unmanned mission to the moon.

Microsoft Yahoo partner on scams

The tech giants join Western Union and the African Development Bank to educate users about scams.

Thin line between love and hate? - science knows why

LONDON (Reuters) - It often seems a thin line between love and hate, and now scientists think they know why.

Mars robot's heaters to be turned off, one by one

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Engineers taking long-distance care of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission are planning to start turning off its heaters one by one and let it freeze to death.

LittleBigPlanet players help build video game

RALEIGH, NC (Reuters) - Sony Computer Entertainment America's "LittleBigPlanet" game, released in North America on Tuesday, lets players create characters and scenarios for the PlayStation 3, taking the Internet's embrace of community-created sites to video games.

Tyrannosaurus rex noses out dinosaur competition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When it came to the sense of smell among meat-eating dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex nosed out the competition.

Tech giants in human rights deal

Microsoft, Google and Yahoo unite in a charter to protect online freedom of speech from official interference.

Lawmaker wants indepth review of Google/Yahoo deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading Republican lawmaker asked the Justice Department on Tuesday to "thoroughly investigate" antitrust and privacy issues in a search advertising partnership planned by Google Inc and Yahoo Inc.

Wal-Mart to sell G1 for $30 less than T-Mobile USA

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to sell the G1 cell phone, powered by Google Inc , for about $30 less than T-Mobile USA, the exclusive U.S. carrier for the device.

Google to pay $125 million in online books settlement

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc has reached a legal settlement with authors and major publishers that paves the way for readers to search through millions of copyrighted books online, browse passages and purchase copies.

Windows 7 aims to simplify

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is betting its next Windows operating system will be faster and easier to use and avoid the missteps of Windows Vista that alienated many users of the software that powers 90 percent of the world's PCs.

Does mold make you sick? Doctors seek answers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fungus expert Joan Bennett did not believe in so-called toxic mold -- the cause of "sick building syndrome" and many lawsuits -- until her New Orleans home was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Microsoft says next Office suite will go on the Web

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The next upgrade of Office business software from Microsoft Corp will include a version that edits word processing documents and spreadsheets inside a Web browser, the software maker said on Tuesday.

Microsoft's Windows 7 aims to simplify

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is betting its next Windows operating system will be faster and easier to use and avoid the missteps from the introduction of Windows Vista, which alienated many users of the software that powers 90 percent of the world's PCs.

Google strikes book search deal

Following two years of negotiations, Google has reached an agreement with publishers and authors to index millions of books

Intel says global investment plans on track

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chip giant Intel Corp's chief executive said on Tuesday that its investments around the world are proceeding as originally planned, but that some disruption from the global financial crisis was unavoidable.

Cleaning up in 'fab world'

A look inside the surreal and ultra-clean world of the silicon manufacturing plant.

Games ratings row gets colourful

Games consortium Elspa has proposed a 'traffic light' system for rating games ahead of a government decision.

Future directions in computing

A look at the future computing technologies which will go beyond Moore's Law.

Japan unveils maid robot.

Oct 28 - A Japanese robot research centre have created a robot that can do household chores.

Gamers get very much in character to break world record

Hundreds of video game fans dress as characters from their favourite games to set a new record in east London.

Google looking to invest in energy sector: report

(Reuters) - Internet search and advertising leader Google Inc is increasingly looking at the energy sector as a potential business opportunity, the New York Times reported.

Canadian music royalties go online

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Canada on Monday extended music royalties to the Internet in a move that will encompass commercial TV and radio station websites, electronic gaming sites and online radio stations.

And the Word became digital

ROME (Hollywood Reporter) - An assembly of Catholic bishops on Monday called for the use of mass communications -- including television, cinema, DVDs and even iPods -- to be used to spread the Bible in as many languages as possible.

Tech giants agree on free speech principals: report

(Reuters) - Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc are expected to announce on Tuesday that they have agreed to a common set of principals on how to do business in nations that restrict free speech and expression, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Microsoft anti-piracy move irks Chinese official

BEIJING (Reuters) - A top Chinese copyright official chided Microsoft for launching an anti-piracy tool that nags users of counterfeit software with a black computer screen and said the company's prices were too high.

GM tomato 'may boost health'

Scientists have developed purple tomatoes which they hope may be able to keep cancer at bay.

Microsoft anti-piracy move irks China

BEIJING (Reuters) - A top Chinese copyright official chided Microsoft for launching an "anti-piracy" tool that causes screens of computers using counterfeit software to turn black and said the company's prices were too high.

Microsoft to rent Web "cloud" computing space

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp took the wraps off a new computing service that allows companies to use its data centers to run their Web applications in a bid to become a player in the "cloud computing" trend.

Technology helps restore Raphael masterpiece

FLORENCE (Reuters) - After 10 years of painstaking study and restoration that tested both cutting edge technology and human patience, one of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance is returning to the public.

Will Twitter and terrorism meet?

Concerns arise that terrorists may use technologies like blogging site Twitter to plan and organise attacks.

Microsoft to battle in the clouds

Microsoft has unveiled Azure, its cloud computing venture in which data storage and computing will happen on the web

French company aims to create artificial heart

PARIS (Reuters) - A company backed by European aerospace giant EADS and one of France's leading cardiac surgeons aims to create an implantable artificial heart it says could help hundreds of thousands of patients.

Microsoft's Gates steps up FCC "white space" lobbying

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bill Gates and other Microsoft Corp officials stepped up lobbying of top U.S. communications regulators on Monday, ahead of an important vote next week to open up unused wireless airwaves.

Microsoft matches reward for missing Canadian teen

TORONTO (Reuters) - Software giant Microsoft Corp has matched a reward being offered in the search for a missing Canadian teenager who ran away from home after his parents took away his Xbox 360 video game console.

Club drug Special K helps schizophrenia researchers

LONDON (Reuters) - British researchers said on Monday they might have discovered how schizophrenia affects part of the brain by carrying out tests with "Special K," a popular club drug that mimics the symptoms of the mental illness.

Space tourism will weather market crisis: astronaut

STAR CITY, Russia (Reuters) - At over $30 million a ticket it is not cheap, but rich adventurers will still pay for a dream trip into orbit despite a global financial crisis, U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott said Monday.

Microsoft looks to rent Web "cloud" computing space

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp took the wraps off a new computing service that allows companies to use its data centers to run their Web applications in a bid to become a player in the so-called "cloud computing" trend.

US Army warns of Twitter danger

Concerns arise that terrorists may use technologies like blogging site Twitter to plan and organise attacks.

Wireless bolsters Verizon profit despite economy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Strong wireless sales helped Verizon Communications Inc post a higher quarterly profit despite a fall in landline customers and worries of a slower U.S. economy, helping the shares rise 8 percent.

81-year-old Chinese man finds love online

BEIJING (Reuters) - An 81-year-old Chinese man has proved age need not be a barrier to Internet love, marrying a 58-year-old bride he met online, a local newspaper reported.

NII, RIM to launch new smartphone in Latin America

(Reuters) - Wireless carrier NII Holdings Inc said it will launch Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphone in Latin America during the first quarter of 2009. The company, formerly Nextel International Inc, said it will launch the BlackBerry smartphone in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru.

Is surfing the Internet altering your brain?

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The Internet is not just changing the way people live but altering the way our brains work with a neuroscientist arguing this is an evolutionary change which will put the tech-savvy at the top of the new social order.

Alarm raised on teenage hackers

Computer security experts warn that many teenagers are falling into a life of petty cyber crime.

India's first Moon mission

India has successfully launched the unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft, its first mission to the Moon.

Cox plans own cellular network: report

(Reuters) - Cox Communications is expected to announce later on Monday that it plans to have its own cellular network up and running next year, the Los Angeles Times said.

Indian Moon craft lifts off

India has successfully launched the unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft, its first mission to the Moon.

The man behind Moore's Law

BBC News interviews Gordon Moore, the man whose "law" has driven the computer revolution.

Hi-tech brings families together

New technologies are forging bonds among families and bringing people together, says a report.

Indian Moon probe set to launch

India is counting down to the launch of its first unmanned mission to the Moon.

UK positioned for sat-nav prizes

A UK company wins the European Satellite Navigation prize for a satellite positioning-enabled smart lifejacket.

Hope for future of red squirrel

Scientists say they have come up with a way to revive the red squirrel population.

Going for online gold

Bill Thompson is keeping an eye on the Olympics but isn't interested in medal winners

Job seekers warned over website CV theft

Job seekers have been warned to be particularly careful when sending their CVs to websites.

Scientists develop cancer fighting tomato

LONDON (Reuters) - A purple tomato genetically engineered to contain nutrients more commonly seen in dark berries helped prevent cancer in mice, British researchers said on Sunday.

Handsets to become crime targets

Mobile phones are becoming increasingly attractive targets for virus writers and scammers, say security experts.

Gizmo puts cold callers on hold

A device which attaches to a landline phone claims to combat the menace of nuisance calls.

Broadband users reach their limit

A survey finds one million customers are close to or have overstepped their monthly bandwidth quota

Computers controlled by gesture?

Computer users of the future could use gestures or even their minds to control their machines.

Scientists develop purple, cancer fighting tomato

LONDON (Reuters) - A purple tomato genetically engineered to contain nutrients more commonly seen in dark berries helped prevent cancer in mice, British researchers said on Sunday.

Google on Android's future

Google's director of mobile platforms explains his vision for Android, a new operating system for mobiles.

Humans made fire 790,000 years ago: study

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A new study shows that humans had the ability to make fire nearly 790,000 years ago, a skill that helped them migrate from Africa to Europe.

Google soars despite economy

The online search engine Google defies economic worries, as its profits rise 26% sending its shares soaring.

Broadband speeds in question

Virgin Media has said that broadband speed tests are unable to accurately measure its super-fast service.

Electric car pilot for UK roads

The government is set to announce a pilot scheme to test electric cars on Britain's roads in three cities.

Data centre to be powered by tide

Hundreds of jobs and heat for Prince Charles' greenhouses are identified as spin offs of project.

Game delay over Koran phrases

The global release of a much-anticipated video game is delayed because of concerns it could offend Muslims.

Safe landing for Soyuz capsule

A Soyuz space capsule carrying two Russian crew and an American space tourist has returned to Earth.

Google's phone debuts

Customers line up in New York City to be the first to buy Google's new G1 phone.

Ofcom sets out stall for fast net

The price of next-gen broadband should reflect how much it costs to invest in it, says regulator

Lawmaker questions Google-backed spectrum plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. lawmaker on Friday joined a growing chorus asking the head of the Federal Communications Commission to explain his plan to open unused airwaves for wireless devices, an approach backed by Google Inc.

The online battles for president

The Obama campaign becomes the first to advertise in video games, while the McCain camp challenges YouTube.

Cheaper mobiles hit phone firms

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson sees profits fall, blaming demand for cheaper phones and fluctuating currency rates.

Game delayed over Koran phrases

The global release of a much-anticipated video game is delayed because of concerns it could offend Muslims.

Texts tackle HIV in South Africa

Free text messages to mobile phones will soon be helping encourage South Africans to get tested for HIV.

Keyboard sniffers to steal data

Techniques to eavesdrop on what people are typing on a computer keyboard have been revealed by security researchers.

Australia scientists say bees can count to four

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Researchers have discovered that honey bees can count to four, a report said here on Sunday.

Getting more from Moore's Law

A look at some of the technologies that could allow the silicon industry to deliver faster, cheaper chips.

Fraudsters' website shut in swoop

A website where criminals traded credit card details and bank log-ins is shut down after a police operation.

iTunes glitch censors song titles

A temporary error on the UK's iTunes Music Store service causes some inoffensive song titles to be starred out.

UK has biggest off-shore wind farm

Blustery Britain is the world's biggest producer of wind energy out at sea, with the largest site off Skegness.

Team track deer population

A group of volunteers along with National Trust workers have been tracking changes in the deer population in Dorset.

NHS 'not making enough use of IT'

The NHS must be more innovative in its use of everyday technology to improve care to patients, experts say.

Nasa launches Ibex probe

US space agency Nasa has launched the interstellar boundary explorer, or Ibex, toward the edges of the solar system.

Why the future is in your hands

The humble mobile phone looks set to become a multimedia, multi-function monster as more features are crammed inside it.

Queen visits Google London

A YouTube clip sparks laughter from the Queen during her visit to the London offices of internet giant Google.

Web content 'disturbing children'

Three out of four children have seen images on the internet that disturbed them, according to an NSPCC poll.

Apple's $999 laptop

Oct 14 - Apple cut the price of its entry level laptop, and unveiled a new line of aluminum clad machines

How not to monitor mobiles

Bill Thompson is worried that the methods we are using to keep kids safe on mobiles have stopped being useful.

Users urged to report abuse sites

Web users who find images of child sex abuse online are being urged to report it to the Internet Watch Foundation.

Virtual murder of 'husband' leads to real-life jail for Japan woman

Japanese police arrest a woman who allegedly illegally accessed computer data to kill off her virtual husband in an online game.

Yahoo in licensing deal with Everyday Health: report

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc is set to announce a content-licensing agreement with the Everyday Health Network, the New York Post said.

Norway tackles salmon killer

Hundreds of Norwegian rivers are being treated with insecticide to kill off bacteria which are destroying the country's freshwater salmon stocks.

eBay warning of tough Christmas

Online auction site eBay reports robust profits but warns that a weak economy will hurt sales in the run-up to Christmas.

EBay to ban sales of ivory goods

Online auction site eBay says it is bringing in a global ban on the sale of all ivory products to protect elephants.

Wartime tunnel for sale

Oct. 17 - BT is putting on the market a once secret tunnel that linked the Cold War hotline between Washington and Moscow.

Musician defends Sony game song

A Malian musician defends a track that is being removed from a Sony video game out of concern it may offend Muslims.

Captain's log: I'm annoyed - Shatner angry at snub by co-star

Actor William Shatner feels "nothing but pity" for his Star Trek co-star George Takei after failing to be invited to his wedding.

Hoon defends database plans

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon says he is prepared to go "quite a long way" with civil liberties to "stop terrorists killing people".

Pupils reveal mobile snapshot

Students at a school in Tynemouth carry out a survey of mobile phone use as apart of the BBC's School Report project.

NASA unveils new lunar rover built for endurance

BLACK POINT, Arizona (Reuters) - NASA unveiled a new lunar rover on Friday which aims to transform space exploration by allowing astronauts to roam large distances without cumbersome spacesuits when they return to the moon by 2020.

The mobile future is calling

Developers are being urged to unleash their creativity and make the mobile future a reality and bring the world to everyone's phone.

The importance of being there

Regular columnist Bill Thompson says the virtual world still needs a lot of work if it is to replace the real world.

Hoon defends giant database plans

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon says he is prepared to go "quite a long way" with civil liberties to "stop terrorists killing people".

CBS books "Novel Adventures" for webisodes

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - CBS Interactive is partnering with GM's Saturn auto division to launch a scripted Web series starring Daphne Zuniga.

EU lawmakers approve crackdown on Internet violence

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Cyber-bullying and child pornography will be targeted in a 55 million euro ($70.9 million) scheme agreed by European Union lawmakers on Wednesday.

Europe delays ExoMars mission

The ExoMars rover, which will search for signs of life on the Red Planet, will not launch now until 2016 because of high costs.

Sony delay game over Koran text

Sony have delayed the launch if its new Playstation 3 game Little Big Planet after it emerged the music contained verses form the Koran

Verizon, Klausner settle voice mail patent suit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless settled a lawsuit over voice mail technology with the patent's owner, Klausner Technologies Inc, the companies said on Friday.

Talking to a computer program

Elbot is a computer program pretending to be a person. And this week it won a prize for coming closest to fooling people into thinking it was human. The BBC's Mark Lobel catches him in more a relaxed moment.

Germany says full-body airport scanner "nonsense"

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will not participate in EU proposals for airports to use full-body scanner security checks, which have raised privacy issues, its interior ministry said on Friday.

Greece unearths Neolithic home, household equipment

ATHENS (Reuters) - Archaeologists in northern Greece have unearthed the ruins of a Neolithic house, a rare find that offers valuable information about everyday life 6,000 years ago, the Greek culture ministry said Friday.

Words of wisdom from Woz

Find your passion, follow your heart and don't let a lack of money stop you. Words of wisdom from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Shazam enters new era

Oct 6 - The mobile music discovery service has seen a surge of new users after broadening its offering to work seamlessly with social networks.

China finds fossils of small feathered dinosaur

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Archaeologists in China have discovered fossils of a pigeon-sized feathered dinosaur which they believe to be an ancestor of birds.

Russian watchdog rejects Google's bid for ad firm

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) said on Thursday it had refused to let Google acquire 100 percent of the Begun advertising agency.

UK encouraged to get online

New research shows that 17 million people in the UK have never used a computer and one third of adults do not use the internet.

Hippie apes make war as well as love, study finds

LONDON (Reuters) - Despite their reputation as lovers, not fighters, of the primate world, bonobos actually hunt and kill monkeys, German researchers said Monday.

New TB blood test seen more accurate

LONDON (Reuters) - A new blood test will allow doctors more accurately to pinpoint patients likely to develop the symptoms of tuberculosis, researchers said on Monday.

Chinese surfers see red over Microsoft black-outs

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Internet users have expressed fury at Microsoft's launch of an anti-piracy tool targeting Chinese computer users to ensure they buy genuine software.

A new way to make sticky tape see-through

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have found a new "see-through" use for commonplace clear adhesive tape -- it produces X-rays when it is peeled off the roll.

U.S. space tourist, Russians return to Earth

NEAR ARKALYK, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott and a Russian crew bumped down safely in Kazakhstan on Friday.

U.S. space tourist returns to Earth

ALMATY (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott and a Russian crew landed safely in Kazakhstan at 11:36 p.m EDT as planned on Friday.

Videogame makers bank on sequels

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - Sequels may not always match up to the original in Hollywood but videogames can often get better the second or third time around.

Doing the 'Green Thing'.

Oct 23 - Whatever your view of climate change, most would agree it's a serious topic but the newly relaunched 'Green Thing' site hopes to affect change through creativity.

Artifacts discovery might lead to lost tribe

MANILA (Reuters) - When Philippine police confiscated 22 bags of broken pottery from antiquity smugglers near an area where Muslim rebels operated, little did they know that they may have uncovered the remnants of a long-lost tribe.

Tiny dinosaur on verge of swearing off meat

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A rare juvenile skull of a 190 million-year-old dinosaur may help explain when an important group of plant eaters branched off from carnivorous cousins, U.S. and British researchers said on Thursday.

NASA traces glitches that stopped Hubble

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA engineers have traced two glitches that shut down the orbiting Hubble space telescope and said on Thursday they rebooted one of the computers involved.

Scientists find way to erase memories in mice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It seems like a movie plot, but scientists have developed a way to erase specific memories in mice while leaving others intact and not damaging the brain.

Russian watchdog rejects Google bid for ad firm

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's anti-trust watchdog rejected on Thursday a $140 million bid by Google Inc. to buy the Begun advertising agency, claiming the deal would reduce competition in the online advertising market.

Guns N' Roses finally release long-delayed album

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Guns N' Roses, the rock band whose appetite for self-destruction has left it with only one original member, will release its first album of new material in more than 17 years on November 23, its label said on Wednesday.

Computer heart model recalls da Vinci's sketches

LONDON (Reuters) - Five centuries after Leonardo da Vinci's intricate drawings transformed understanding of the human heart, a new computer model promises to do the same for modern-day cardiac care, experts say.

Jupitermedia to sell online image unit to Getty

BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - Jupitermedia Corp said it will sell its online images business to Getty Images Inc for $96 million in cash, leaving it to focus exclusively on its online media division.

EU MPs concerned by airport full-body scanners

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Airport full-body scanners that show people's private parts are a virtual strip search, European Union lawmakers said Thursday, calling for detailed study of the technology before it is used.

Onion News Network has international appeal

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - The Onion News Network, an offshoot of the satirical newspaper the Onion, will be available to online viewers across the U.K., Europe and Asia following an exclusive deal Wednesday with digital distributor MyVideoRights.com.

Japan, Korea lead in fiber-optic broadband: OECD

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Fiber-optic cable has become the biggest single broadband technology in Korea and Japan, which lead the world in the proportion of households connected to the Internet with super-fast links, OECD data showed on Thursday.

Onion News Network goes global

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - The Onion News Network, an offshoot of the satirical newspaper the Onion, will be available to online viewers across the UK, Europe and Asia following an exclusive deal Wednesday with digital distributor MyVideoRights.com.

CBS offers mashup for Web couch potatoes

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - CBS Interactive is launching an online feature that enables groups of viewers to collectively watch and interact with streaming TV content.

Videogame makers banking on big hits with sequels

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - Sequels may not always match up to the original in Hollywood but videogames can often get better the second or third time around.

Netflix sees half million Blu-ray subscribers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - DVD rental company Netflix Inc said on Monday it expects about 500,000 of its 8.7 million subscribers will be Blu-ray subscribers in the current quarter.

Sony says to beat PSP sales forecast in 2008/09

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said on Thursday it expects to beat its sales forecast for its PlayStation Portable handheld game gear for the year to March.

Device helps monkeys move paralyzed wrists

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Monkeys regained the use of paralyzed wrist muscles with a computer-aided device that uses brain signals to direct movement, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Sony's new PSP model off to strong start in Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's new PlayStation Portable got off to a robust start in Japan, with combined sales of it and earlier models in the week of its market debut hitting the highest so far this year, a research firm said on Thursday.

Japanese climbers say find footprints of abominable snowman

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Japanese climbers returning from a mountain in western Nepal said on Tuesday they had found footprints they think belonged to the abominable snowman or Yeti.

Netflix, Samsung in streaming partnership

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Online DVD rental company Netflix Inc said on Wednesday that some of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's Blu-ray DVD devices can now play video streamed over the Web from Netflix.

Asustek targets 77 percent laptop jump in 2009: report

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's Asustek Computer aims to increase its notebook output by 77 percent in 2009 as it rides growing demand for its low-cost laptops, local media reported on Tuesday.

U.S. to study possible space-based defense

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress has approved $5 million for an independent study of possible space-based missile defenses, a potential step toward a system once mocked as "Star Wars."

Russia set to invest heavily in space industry

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will spend billions of dollars over the next three years to consolidate its leading role in the space industry, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

The 'second wave' of Second Life

Oct 21 - Linden Lab's CEO Mark Kingdon says after working to make the virtual world more stable and scalable, the focus is now on fueling new uses for the grid.

Genentech team grows mice prostate from stem cells

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have discovered stem cells in the prostates of mice and grown complete prostates from them, a big step toward regenerating organs from a patient's own cells.

L.A. man pleads innocent in Guns N' Roses piracy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A man accused of placing songs on the Internet from an unreleased album by the rock band Guns N' Roses pleaded innocent on Monday in federal court.

NetSuite targets Salesforce clients with discounts

BOSTON (Reuters) - Business software maker NetSuite Inc announced on Wednesday an aggressive plan to wrest customers from Salesforce.com Inc, offering 50 percent discounts to businesses that switch over from its rival.

AT&T to sell BlackBerry Bold for $299 Nov 4

NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Inc said on Wednesday it would sell the BlackBerry Bold from Research In Motion Ltd for $299, or 50 percent more than it charges for Apple Inc's iPhone.

Hefty price tag for AT&T's BlackBerry Bold

NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Inc said on Wednesday it would sell the BlackBerry Bold from Research In Motion Ltd for $299, or 50 percent more than it charges for Apple Inc's iPhone.

Comcast offers speedier Internet access

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp is juicing up its high-speed Internet access in some of its big markets, with plans to offer speedier connections to all of its customers during the next two years.

Nokia hopes free technology will boost smartphones

HELSINKI/LONDON (Reuters) - Nokia hopes giving away the Symbian technology used in its high-end mobile phones will encourage Internet developers to build innovative applications on the platform, helping it win back market share.

Samsung drops $5.9 bln SanDisk bid in weak markets

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's top memory chip maker, withdrew a $5.9 billion unsolicited bid for flash memory card maker SanDisk, citing the U.S. company's deepening losses and uncertain outlook.

Quebecor to spend up to C$1 bln on wireless network

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian media and publishing group Quebecor Inc confirmed on Wednesday it will spend as much as C$1 billion ($800 million) over four years to roll out a wireless network to compete against the country's Big Three mobile phone companies.

NASA wrestles with more Hubble problems

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A new glitch has shut down the Hubble Space Telescope, dashing NASA's hopes of a speedy recovery from an earlier computer breakdown, officials said on Friday.

AT&T reports boost from iPhone, but at a cost

NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T said Apple Inc's iPhone would hurt full-year profit margins by more than expected, although it helped the top U.S. phone company grow revenue and mobile subscribers in the third quarter.

FBI catches up with Miley Cyrus hacker

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 19-year-old hacker who posted some racy photos of Disney starlet Miley Cyrus on the Internet said he was raided by the FBI this week after boasting that he would never be caught.

India launches first moon mission

SRIHARIKOTA, India (Reuters) - India launched its first unmanned moon mission on Wednesday following in the footsteps of Asian rival China, as the country celebrated its space ambitions and scientific prowess.

Why eating males pays off, for spiders

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Female spiders who eat would-be suitors produce more babies, and those babies are stronger and bigger, than spiders who stick to more mundane fare, researchers reported on Tuesday.

China urged to extend media freedoms domestically

BEIJING (Reuters) - China should extend media freedoms it now offers foreign reporters to domestic journalists too, rights groups said, but added that the signs were not encouraging this would happen.

Motorcyclist jailed for YouTube speeding stunt

LONDON (Reuters) - A British motorcyclist who posted footage of himself performing dangerous stunts and speeding at up to 130 mph (209 kph) on YouTube was given a 12-week jail term on Monday.

Web holiday sales to post smallest rise: Forrester

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. online sales are projected to grow 12 percent this holiday season, their lowest-ever jump, as consumers curb spending, Forrester Research predicted in a report released on Tuesday.

India chases China to moon with unmanned mission

SRIHARIKOTA, India (Reuters) - India launched its first unmanned moon mission on Wednesday following in the footsteps of rival China, as the emerging Asian power celebrated its space ambitions and scientific prowess.

Zillow.com cuts staff by 25 percent

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Zillow.com, a real estate website, on Friday cut 25 percent of its staff, or 40 employees, in advance of what the company's chief executive called a "major economic storm."

"Walking fish" reveals fresh evolutionary insights

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An extraordinary fish that existed 375 million years ago had unique features in its head that helped pave the way for vertebrate animals to live on land, scientists said on Wednesday.

Fox Mobile gets face-lift

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - News Corp.'s mobile content operation is rebranding and reorganizing as it aims to expand into new territories and make mobile a key growth business for the conglomerate.

U.S. survey shows risky use of mobile e-mail devices

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A California train engineer who was sending and receiving text messages was blamed last month for causing one of the worst railroad crashes in U.S. history that killed 25 people.

Visa, Huawei, ARM to join Symbian group

HELSINKI (Reuters) - British chip designer ARM, card network Visa, Chinese technology group Huawei and nine others said on Tuesday they planned to join the Symbian Foundation to get free access to its software.

Survey shows risky use of mobile e-mail devices

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A California train engineer who was sending and receiving text messages was blamed last month for causing one of the worst railroad crashes in U.S. history that killed 25 people.

Saudi supercomputer lures researchers

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - A new science and technology university in Saudi Arabia will house one of the world's largest supercomputers and it is helping lure top researchers to the conservative desert state.

Ohio election Web site shut down after hacked

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - The Web site of the Ohio state agency that handles voter registration and other election information was shut down briefly after it was hacked, an official said on Tuesday, vowing to guard against fraud in the key battleground state in the November 4 presidential contest.

Explorers to measure Arctic's vanishing summer ice

LONDON (Reuters) - British explorer Pen Hadow is to return to the North Pole five years after his record solo trek, in an attempt to establish when Arctic summer sea ice will disappear for good.

Bird flu pushed back, pandemic threat remains: UN

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - International efforts have pushed back the spread of bird flu this year, but the risk of a global influenza pandemic killing millions is as great as ever, the United Nations and World Bank reported on Tuesday.

Group to share patents for radio tracking

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - France Telecom , Hewlett-Packard and five other companies got a go-ahead from the U.S. government to form a patent consortium to share high-frequency radio technology used in tracking and identification, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Google keeps talking on Yahoo deal

LAKE WORTH, Florida (Reuters) - Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Tuesday the company had agreed to keep talking with the U.S. Justice Department about its proposed online advertising deal with Yahoo Inc.

Google keeps talking to U.S. on Yahoo deal

LAKE WORTH, Florida (Reuters) - Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Tuesday the company had agreed to keep talking with the U.S. Justice Department about its proposed online advertising deal with Yahoo Inc .

Big Bang experiment inaugurated despite glitch

GENEVA (Reuters) - The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) officially inaugurated its experiment to probe the origins of the universe on Tuesday, even though a technical hitch last month shut it down within days of starting.

Toshiba boosts SanDisk as Samsung circles

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp is buying $1 billion worth of equipment from joint venture partner SanDisk Corp , shoring up the California-based company as it faces a takeover bid from South Korean rival Samsung.

iPhone squeezes phone carriers' margins

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Profits at the three largest U.S. phone carriers are being squeezed by steep discounts on advanced cell phones, triggered by AT&T Inc's hefty subsidy for the iPhone.

Taliban orders mobile shutdown in Afghan province

GHAZNI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents said Tuesday they had told mobile phone operators to shut down their networks during the day in the Ghazni province, southwest of Kabul, saying signals help track insurgent fighters.

NASA satellite to scan solar system's outer limits

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA is preparing to launch a satellite that will study in unprecedented detail the distant regions where the outermost reaches of our solar system collide with the cold expanse of interstellar space.

Publisher hit by new German data leak scandal

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The personal details of thousands of people who placed classified advertisements in newspapers owned by Axel Springer made their way onto the Internet in the latest data leak scandal to hit Germany.

EBay to ban sale of ivory products

(Reuters) - EBay Inc will institute a global ban on the sale of all types of ivory products by January 1, 2009, after a conservation group investigation found more than 4,000 elephant ivory listings on the online auction site.

Hong Kong finds bird flu virus in crow

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A house crow found dead in a crowded district in Hong Kong last week has tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus, a government spokeswoman said on Monday.

Microsoft says Yahoo ad deal still makes sense

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said a Web search advertising deal with Yahoo Inc makes economic sense and may still be possible, though the two sides are not in any discussions.

India joins Asia space race in first moon mission

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will launch its first unmanned moon mission on Wednesday, following in the footsteps of rivals China and Japan, as it tries to show off its scientific know-how and claim a bigger chunk of the global space business.

Facebook eyes digital-music business: report

(Reuters) - Social networking site Facebook's founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg plans to enter the digital-music business in the wake of the launch of News Corp's MySpace Music last month, the New York Post said.

Sony delays videogame over offensive music

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Corp has delayed sales of "LittleBigPlanet," one of its most widely anticipated videogames, by at least one week in the United States after finding potentially offensive background music in the game.

UK police shut down card fraudsters' website

LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Friday they had shut down a highly sophisticated website that allowed fraudsters around the world to trade in stolen credit card details and find out about the latest online scams.

LG Elec to build solar cell lines in old PDP plant

SEOUL (Reuters) - LG Electronics Inc said on Tuesday it would set up two solar cell production lines at the site of its suspended plasma panel plant, as the company seeks to find a new growth engine in the renewable energy business.

E-readers face tough competition

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Electronic reading devices are gaining converts but are unlikely to replace the printed book and will have to compete hard with other ways of consuming digital media, exhibitors at the Frankfurt Book Fair said.

"Big Bang" collider glitch was electrical fault: CERN

GENEVA (Reuters) - The technical problem that forced the shut-down of a huge particle collider built to probe the origins of the universe was a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets, CERN said on Thursday.

Survey finds optimism among tech execs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Despite turmoil in global markets, two-thirds of senior technology industry executives polled in a new survey say the economic slowdown will not hurt them as badly as the bursting of the tech bubble in 2000.

Symbian pins hopes on open-access future

LONDON (Reuters) - Users of the Symbian mobile phone operating system, meeting in London this week, hope that making the software freely available will help it regain momentum in the battle with new rivals like Apple and Google.

White space backers see new devices in a year

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Opening unused U.S. television channels to wireless devices, an idea endorsed by communications regulators this week, could spark development of faster devices with features such as high-definition video within a year, backers said on Thursday.

Playboy shedding DVDs

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Playboy Enterprises Inc, which publishes the world's most widely read adult entertainment magazine, will take a number of steps to save $12 million a year, including closing its DVD business, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Anesthesia during childbirth seen very safe

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The odds of a woman dying from the anesthesia she may be given during childbirth have fallen to about one in a million, according to a study described at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Switching off CO2

Oct 20 - A Spanish company has come up with a device that will switch off electrical appliances left in stand-by mode.

Facebook eyes growth over profits

Oct. 12 - On a visit to London as part of a multi-city European trip, Facebook founder Mark Zuckeberg explains his strategy for navigating a tough economic climate.

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