Electronic Arts is investing US$167 million into The9, a China-based game company. The9 will get exclusive regional rights to run the online soccer game EA SPORTS FIFA Online which currently has around 4.5 million players in Asia.

The Chinese government has backed away from a plan that would have required bloggers to register their real names and information. Chinese bloggers are now only "encouraged" to register their names with service providers.

Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the "One Laptop Per Child" initiative, accused chip maker Intel of undermining the OLPC by selling its own cut-price laptop, the Classmate. Negroponte claims that Intel is trying to drive him out of the market.

After gaining ground for a couple months, Microsoft's search business lost market share in April, while Google and Yahoo posted gains, according to statistics released Monday by Nielsen/NetRatings.

Faced with a growing onslaught of hacker attacks against its products, Microsoft has improved the security capabilities in its latest server software offering.

Although the absolute price of broadband in many developed countries is more expensive than in most developing countries, residents of China, Turkey and Spain pay more for high-speed Internet when measured as a percentage of income.

Scandal-battered Siemens has turned to an outsider in its search for a new chief executive, naming a top US health care industry executive as its new leader.

In a bid to boost its presence in advertising, Microsoft said that it will pay US$6 billion to acquire Aquantive, a digital marketing and services company.

Metalink Ltd., which provides wireless and wireline broadband communications technology, said Wednesday it opened a new regional office and design center in Taiwan to support local partners and customers. The Israeli company said the 12-person office, which will include research, sales and support workers, will be headed by Alister Chu, who previously served as a manager for biometrics technology company AuthenTec.

Hewlett-Packard's (HP) sales were up 13% on year, or 10% when adjusted for the effects of currency. HP estimates third quarter in fiscal 2007 revenue will be approximately US$23.7 - 23.9 billion. During the quarter, on a year-over-year basis, revenue in the US grew 11% to US$10.7 billion, revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 14% to US$10.3 billion, and revenue in Asia Pacific grew 16% to US$4.5 billion.

Digital media company RealNetworks said it has acquired Sony NetServices, Sony's European music download service, for US$9 million in cash to add to its mobile entertainment technology portfolio and strengthen its market position in Europe.