Technology - AFP

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Hitachi and US giant General Electric will team up to sell midsize nuclear reactors to meet growing demand for power facilities in Southeast Asia, a Hitachi spokesman said Wednesday.

HELSINKI (AFP) - With a mobile phone you can make calls on the go, shoot photos and pinpoint your position on a map. And who knows, maybe one day you'll be able to grow your phone in a pot, if the futuristic ideas of technology researchers come true.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Facebook is asking a US court to shut down German website StudiVZ on the grounds it is an illegal "knockoff" of the online social networking superstar.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Videogames are getting smarter with virtual enemies improvising during battles, storylines shifting based on moral choices and in-game characters sending players text messages for help.

TEHRAN (AFP) - The rights group headed by Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi on Saturday condemned a draft bill on Internet crime, warning that it could boost the number of executions in the Islamic republic.

VIENNA (AFP) - After Euro 2008, now Austria is preparing to host RoboCup, where 500 robots take to the football field hoping to prove their mettle.

TOKYO (AFP) - A new high-tech Japanese electronic display can instantly identify people's sex or age range and target them with advertisements to suit them, maker NEC Corp. said Friday.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Nintendo said Thursday that its globally popular Wii has become the top-selling video game console in the United States, a crown coveted by rivals Microsoft and Sony.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Videogame makers are riding the social-networking wave with a flood of soon-to-be-released titles that let friends play online as teams and even create their own characters.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission warned children and teenagers on Thursday to beware of mobile telephone ring-tone scams after hundreds of Internet sites were found to be charging too much for the services.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hot French videogame maker Ubisoft is launching titles geared for girl athletes in a bet that it's not just boys that love sports both real and virtual.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Sony Online Entertainment is letting comic book lovers be first to try an online videogame that lets players invent superheroes that could go on to thrash even Superman.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are waging battle at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, each claiming to be the true king of videogame consoles in a booming multi-billion dollar industry.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia on Wednesday unveiled a new code of conduct to regulate online and mobile phone content which will call for classifications similar to those for films, a government spokesman said.

SHANGHAI (AFP) - Commerce on the Internet in China is expanding rapidly, with spending rising 60 percent in the first half of the year, an industry body said Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Sony on Tuesday added online movie sales and rentals to the repertoire of PlayStation 3 videogame console features.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - A deal struck Tuesday lets Google cloak identities of YouTube users while complying with a court order to show Viacom the video-viewing habits of everyone who has ever used the popular website.

SAO PAULO (AFP) - A Brazilian company is claiming to be the first to have found a way to unlock Apple's new iPhone 3G, getting around restrictions that require users to sign up for calling plans with exclusive carriers, reports said Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - European mobile phone users could pay less to send cross-border text messages under plans the European Commission is preparing as its patience runs out with operators who have ignored calls to cut prices.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - European mobile phone users could pay less to send cross-border text messages under plans the European Commission is preparing, fed-up that operators have left its calls to cut prices unanswered.

LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) - The "Spore" alien population is exploding, boding well for the September launch of the latest brainchild of computer game legend Will Wright.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI took a new hi-tech road to spreading his message Tuesday, sending a mobile phone text to pilgrims attending World Youth Day celebrations in Australia, organisers said.

WELLINGTON (AFP) - A New Zealand teenager who confessed to a central role in a global cyber-crime ring which caused millions of dollars in losses walked free from court Tuesday with police wanting to secure his skills.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - In some US cities, police have turned the thieves' greed and nifty new technology around on them, letting the car catch the crook.

TOKYO (AFP) - Researchers in Japan are developing a gadget that could enable people to hold a three-dimensional image of someone in the palm of their hand.

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian woman described as the world's oldest Internet blogger has died at the age of 108 after posting a final message about singing "a happy song" in her nursing home.

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian woman described as the world's oldest Internet blogger has died at the age of 108 after posting a final message about singing "a happy song" in her nursing home.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Blockbuster sequels, slick technology and duels between the big three console makers are expected in Los Angeles next week as video game industry players reveal their newest creations.