Australian Minister named Internet Villain of the Year

October 7th, 2009 OSLO - Pakistan-born Akhtar Chaudry broke political ground Wednesday after being named deputy speaker and member of the Norwegian parliament's presidium. Chaudry, 48, became the first foreign-born member of the six-member presidium that oversees the 169-seat legislature's affairs, including the order of business.

September 30th, 2009 LONDON - For the first time the advertising market has experienced a significant shift this year, as companies are spending more money on the Internet than on television for advertising. Spending on Internet advertising grew 4.6 per cent in the first half of 2009 to hit 1.7 billion pounds, according to digital marketing trade body Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).

September 20th, 2009 MELBOURNE - People of Victoria can do without sex, car or even a partner, but not the Internet, a new survey suggests. The Optus Family Communication Survey provided a list of things to the Victorians to choose without which they could survive for a month.

September 2nd, 2009 British safety video on texting an Internet hitLONDON — A graphic public service announcement from British police about the dangers of sending text messages while driving has become a global Internet hit. Gwent Police in Wales say an extract from their video has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube and other sites.

August 25th, 2009 Illegal downloaders in Britain may lose Web accessLONDON — The British government says people who illegally download music and films could have their Internet connections cut off. Treasury Minister Stephen Timms says the move would allow "swifter and more flexible measures" to clamp down on piracy.

August 5th, 2009 LONDON - A third of people in the European Union say they have never used the internet, according to an EU report, which examined the region's digital landscape over the last five years. What's more, the study found that more than one in four Europeans had never used a PC.

August 4th, 2009 NANNING - A teenager in a Chinese camp meant to help people fight Internet addiction was beaten to death by camp workers. Public security authorities in south China's Guangxi Zhuang said they have detained four people in Nanning City in association with the death of the teenager.

June 18th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Three Australian National University researchers-Alison Booth, Andrew Leigh and Elena Vargonova - have through a study, discovered that Australian employers are racist when they are on a hiring mission. Booth, Leigh and Vargonova said that they sent out 4000 fake job applications to employers advertising on the internet for entry-level hospitality, data entry, customer service and sales jobs, changing only the racial origin of the supposed applicants' names, and they found that applicants with Chinese names fared the worst, having only a one-in-five chance of getting asked in for interviews, compared to applicants with Anglo-Saxon names whose chances exceeded one-in-three.

June 15th, 2009 LONDON - Love turned rather shameful for former Cuban ruler Fidel Castro's son Antonio, who was fooled by a man presenting himself as a sexy Colombian woman on the internet. Known for his reputation with women, Antonio fell to the charms of his Internet ladylove Claudia, who was smitten by his wealth and power and was keen to travel to Cuba to meet the man of her dreams.

May 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Burma has been judged the worst country in the world for online restrictions in a report looking at the repression faced by bloggers. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which has compiled a list of the 10 worst countries to be a blogger, says it wants to shame those governments that are most aggressively attempting to curtail and censor web activity.

April 15th, 2009 LONDON - Britain's failure to protect its citizens from secret surveillance on the Internet is to be investigated by the European Commission. According to The Independent, the move will fuel claims that Britain is sliding towards a Big Brother state and could end with the Government being forced to defend its policy on internet privacy in front of judges in Europe.

April 14th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood actress Keira Knightley is unhappy with social networking sites and says she finds Internet 'dehumanising'. 'I hate Internet.

March 27th, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke plans to marry a former Russian boxer and has reportedly proposed to her. Irson Kudikova is the woman Rourke wants to wed and she is now a singer.

March 18th, 2009 LONDON - Legendary actor David Prowse has revealed that he is battling prostate cancer. David, who thrilled fans with his terrific portrayal of the villain Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' trilogy, has been undergoing radiotherapy for nearly two months.

March 17th, 2009 LONDON - British parents have been named among the worst informed in the world as to how much time their children spend surfing the Internet, and what they look at online. A Norton Online Report says that parents in the UK believe that their children spend 18.8 hours a month on the Internet, while they actually spend about 43.5 hours online.