IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 20 June
20-06-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Irish censor bans videogame | Google takes on carbon emissions
The Irish Examiner says that a videogame featuring "gross, unrelenting and gratuitous violence" has become the first-ever game to be banned by the Irish Film Censor's Office (IFCO). Manhunt 2, made by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation and Wii consoles, was due to hit shops on 13 July. The title is a sequel to Manhunt -- another videogame that was withdrawn from shops in Ireland after it was claimed that it led to the murder of a schoolboy in England in 2004.
The Financial Times says that search giant Google is starting to throw its political weight around, beginning with its plans to take a leading role in lobbying on environmental issues. The company said it is looking to persuade politicians, energy companies and PC users to work together to reduce carbon emissions. "We want to leverage our assets and influence the world beyond the computer," said Urs Holzle, senior vice-president of operations at Google. "We are going to argue in public to change attitudes on a number of things. The first one is energy standards."
The Wall Street Journal reports that mobile operator Verizon Wireless is set to announce a deal with mobile payments firm Obopay that will allow subscribers to transfer money and make purchases via their mobile phones. The partnership will give Verizon Wireless's more than 60 million subscribers access to Obopay's mobile payment application through the carrier's mobile store or mobile web service. The application enables users to transfer money from a personal Obopay account to other users and eventually to merchants.
The paper also reports that Yahoo has said it will launch an improved version of its suite of software for mobile phone users in the US on Friday and unveil test versions in 13 other countries. Yahoo's downloadable Go for Mobile application, which has been in test mode in the US since January, makes a number of Yahoo's web-based services for computer users available from mobile devices. The internet firm also plans to announce pacts with six mobile operators in Asia to use its oneSearch web-based search service as the default engine on their mobile portals.
According to the same paper, Matsushita Electric Industrial has begun mass-producing large-scale integrated-circuit chips that use 45-nanometer technology. The denser chips have more processing power, take up less space and consume less power. Matsushita, which makes the Panasonic line of products, said it began mass production this month at its factory in Uozu, Japan. Executive Vice President Susumu Koike said the new chips will be used in products on store shelves by year-end.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 