World News | Latest News: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Smart cities to get their own OS

30 September 2011 Last updated at 12:23

By Katia Moskvitch Technology reporter, BBC News

Cities could soon be looking after their citizens all by themselves thanks to an operating system designed for the metropolis.

The Urban OS works just like a PC operating system but keeps buildings, traffic and services running smoothly.

The software takes in data from sensors dotted around the city to keep an eye on what is happening.

In the event of a fire the Urban OS might manage traffic lights so fire trucks can reach the blaze swiftly.

The idea is for the Urban OS to gather data from sensors buried in buildings and many other places to keep an eye on what is happening in an urban area.

The sensors monitor everything from large scale events such as traffic flows across the entire city down to more local phenomena such as temperature sensors inside individual rooms.

The OS completely bypasses humans to manage communication between sensors and devices such as traffic lights, air conditioning or water pumps that influence the quality of city life.

Channelling all the data coming from these sensors and services into a over-arching control system had lots of benefits, said Steve Lewis, head of Living PlanIT- the Portuguese company behind Urban OS.

Urban OS should mean buildings get managed better and gathering the data from lots of sources gives a broader view of key city services such as traffic flows, energy use and water levels.

"If you were using an anatomy analogy, the city has a network like the nervous system, talking to a whole bunch of sensors gathering the data and causing actions," said Mr Lewis.

"We distribute that nervous system into the parts of the body - the buildings, the streets and other things.

Having one platform managing the entire urban landscape of a city means significant cost savings, implementation consistency, quality and manageability, he added.

"And it's got local computing capacity to allow a building or an automotive platform to interact with people where they are, managing the energy, water, waste, transportation, logistics and human interaction in those areas."

"Start Quote

That's dealt with by the building itself, with the devices very locally talking to each other to figure out what's the best solution for the current dilemma"

End Quote Steve Lewis CEO, Living PlanIT

Urban apps

The underlying technology for the Urban OS has been developed by McLaren Electronic Systems - the same company that creates sensors for Formula One cars. The Urban OS was unveiled at the Machine-2-Machine conference in Rotterdam.

To support the myriad of different devices in a city the firm has developed an extensive set of application services that will run Urban OS, dubbed PlaceApps - the urban environment equivalent of apps on a smartphone.

Independent developers will also be able to build their own apps to get at data and provide certain services around a city.

Mr Lewis said that eventually applications on smartphones could hook into the Urban OS to remotely control household appliances and energy systems, or safety equipment to monitor the wellbeing of elderly people.

It could also prove useful in the event of a fire in a building, he said.

Sensors would spot the fire and then the building would use its intelligence to direct people inside to a safe stairwell, perhaps by making lights flicker or alarms get louder in the direction of the exit.

"That's dealt with by the building itself, with the devices very locally talking to each other to figure out what's the best solution for the current dilemma, and then providing directions and orchestrating themselves," said Mr Lewis.

'Magical actions'

Living PlanIT is working with Cisco and Deutsche Telekom on different parts of the system.

Markus Breitbach of the Machine to Machine Competence Center at Deutsche Telekom said that his firm was helping to bring all the parts of the Urban OS together.

"Everybody's talking about 50 billion connected devices, which effectively means huge amounts of data being collected, but nobody is really caring about managing it and bringing it into a context - and Urban OS can do just that," he said.

"If there's a fire alarm on the fifth floor and the elevator is going to the next floor, the light will switch on - but in addition the traffic lights will be switched accordingly to turn the traffic in the right direction so that fire workers can get through.

"And this is what Urban OS is providing, this kind of solution to analyse mass data, enter it in a context and perform magical actions."

A test bed for the Urban OS is currently being built in Portugal. For its work in developing smart cities, Living PlanIT was selected as one of the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneers of 2012.

Plastic 'flying carpet' takes off

30 September 2011 Last updated at 02:56 ET

Flying carpet made from a sheet of plastic

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The sheet is lifted by the air packets, and propelled forwards

A miniature magic carpet made of plastic has taken flight in a laboratory at Princeton University.

The 10cm (4in) sheet of smart transparency is driven by "ripple power"; waves of electrical current driving thin pockets of air from front to rear underneath.

The prototype, described in Applied Physics Letters, moves at speeds of about a centimetre per second.

Improvements to the design could raise that to as much as a metre per second.

The device's creator, graduate student Noah Jafferis, says he was inspired by a mathematical paper he read shortly after starting his PhD studies at Princeton.

He abandoned what would have been a fashionable project printing electronic circuits with nano-inks for one that seemed to have more in common with 1001 Nights than 21st-Century engineering.

Prof James Sturm, who leads Mr Jafferis' research group, conceded that at times the project seemed foolhardy.

"What was difficult was controlling the precise behaviour of the sheet as it deformed at high frequencies," he told the BBC.

"Without the ability to predict the exact way it would flex, we couldn't feed in the right electrical currents to get the propulsion to work properly."

What followed was a two year digression attaching sensors to every part of the material so as to fine-tune its performance through a series of complex feedbacks.

But once that was mastered, the waveform of the undulating matched that prescribed by the theory, and the wafting motions gave life to the tiny carpet.

In the paper describing the design, Mr Jafferis and his co-authors are careful to keep the word "flying" in inverted commas, because the resulting machine has more in common with a hovercraft than an aeroplane.

"It has to keep close to the ground," Mr Jafferis explained to the BBC's Science in Action, "because the air is then trapped between the sheet and the ground. As the waves move along the sheet it basically pumps the air out the back." That is the source of the thrust.

Ray hope

Harvard University's Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, who wrote the 2007 paper in Physical Review Letters that inspired the whole project, expressed a mixture of surprise and delight at the Princeton team's success.

"Noah has gone beyond our simple theory and actually built a device that works," he told the BBC "And what's more, it behaves, at least qualitatively, as we had predicted."

Mr Jafferis points out that the prototype is limited because tiny conducting threads anchor it to heavy batteries, so it's free to move only a few centimetres. But he is already working on a solar-powered upgrade that could freely fly over large distances.

The advantage of this kind of propulsion, he argues, is that unlike jets, propellers and hovercraft, there are no moving components like cogs and gears that rub against each other.

"The ideal use would be some kind of dusty, grimy environment where moving parts would get gummed up and stop," he explained.

That said, he laughingly admits that with the existing materials, a flying carpet powerful enough to carry a person would need a wingspan of 50 metres - not the best vehicle to take on the streets just yet.

On the other hand, preliminary calculations suggest that there is enough atmosphere on the planet Mars to send floating rovers scudding over its dusty surface.

Meanwhile, Prof Mahadevan looks forward to sophisticated improvements in the near future, suggesting the approach could progress to "mimicking the beautiful two-dimensional undulations of the skate or manta ray".

You can listen to Noah Jafferis describe his flying carpet on the BBC World Service programme Science in Action.

IBM now second biggest tech firm

30 September 2011 Last updated at 05:23 ET

For the first time since 1996 IBM's market value has exceeded Microsoft's.

IBM's closing price on 29 September was $214bn (�137.4bn) while Microsoft's was a shade behind at $213.2bn (�136.8bn).

The values cap a sustained period in which IBM's share price has moved steadily upward as Microsoft's has generally been in decline.

The growth means IBM is now the second largest technology company by market value. Apple still holds the top slot with a value of $362bn (�232bn).

Since the beginning of 2011, IBM's share price has made steady gains and is now 22% higher than at the start of the year, according to Bloomberg figures. By contrast, Microsoft's value has dropped 8.8% over the same time period.

Analysts put the switch in the number two slot down to a decision IBM made in 2005 to sell off its PC business to Chinese manufacturer Lenovo to concentrate on software and services.

"IBM went beyond technology," Ted Schadler, a Forrester Research analyst told Bloomberg. "They were early to recognise that computing was moving way beyond these boxes on our desks."

By contrast much of Microsoft's revenue comes from sales of Windows and Office software used on PCs. Also, Microsoft is between releases of Windows which can mean a fallow period for its revenues.

Windows 7 was released in 2009 and Windows 8 is not expected to be released until late 2012 at the earliest.

Many have also claimed that the rise of the web, mobile computing and tablets spells the end of the PC era. In early August, Dr Mark Dean, one of the designers of the original IBM PC, declared that the centre of the computing world had shifted away from the humble desktop.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

ISPs face broadband ad overhaul

29 September 2011 Last updated at 07:01 ET

ISPs face changes to the way they advertise broadband services.

From April next year, providers will no longer be able to advertise maximum speeds for net packages unless 10% of customers can actually get them.

The new rules come from the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), the body responsible for writing advertising codes.

But Which?, one of the main campaigners for change, said the new rulings do not go far enough.

Typical speeds

There has been huge pressure from industry and consumer groups for changes in the way broadband services are marketed with many feeling current campaigns are misleading consumers.

"This new guidance directly responds to consumer concerns by setting an appropriately high bar for advertisers who want to make speed and unlimited claims in ads," said CAP chairman James Best.

"Advertising is only effective if consumers trust the messages they see and hear," he added.

The new rules state that services cannot be advertised with a headline speed, unless 10% of customers can achieve that. It also calls on ISPs to be clearer about the data caps they set for services.

Which did not think the guidelines went far enough.

"Broadband providers have just been given the green light to mislead consumers. The rules say that providers don't have to state what range of speeds most of their customers experience," it said in a statement.

"That means advertising campaigns can now be based on the experience of a privileged few. If just one in 10 customers get access to the top speeds advertised, that's within the guidelines," it said in a statement.

A recent study by Ofcom found that many services marketed as up to 20Mbps actually achieved an average of just 6.8Mbps.

It recommended that ISPs advertise "typical" speeds so that consumers would have a clearer idea of what they were getting.

"We are disappointed that it appears not to be possible to establish a single, clear and consistent 'Typical Speed Range'. Our view is that this is the best way to ensure that consumers are able to compare the wide range of packages that are available," it said in response to the new guidelines.

CAP also looked at the way ISPs advertise services as unlimited even though they impose data thresholds.

It ruled that broadband providers could still impose limits on the amount of data that users could download, but they must explain the thresholds more clearly.

Catch-all claims

Which? was unimpressed.

"Unlimited should mean unlimited at your normal broadband speed, but internet service providers will be allowed to slow down a supposedly 'unlimited' connection once a customer goes over a certain threshold," it said.

"Ofcom should step in where the advertising regulators have failed, and make sure consumers can't be misled about the broadband service they're paying for," it added.

Virgin, which has campaigned for changes in the way its rival advertise services, said it was pleased with the new codes.

Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media, said: "This is a much needed and long awaited victory for consumers. The new rules are a big step in the right direction and the greater transparency will ensure people can make more informed choices.

ISPs will no longer be able to hide behind generic terms or catch-all claims which they simply cannot deliver."

Bio-inspired plastic self-heals

29 September 2011 Last updated at 04:29 ET By Leila Battison Science reporter

The development of self-healing materials has surged forward as scientists have taken inspiration from biological systems.

Researchers at the University of Illinois in the US have found a way to pump healing fluids around a material like the circulation of animal's blood.

Materials that could repair themselves as they crack would have uses in civil engineering and construction.

Their results are published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

Self-healing materials have been researched for nearly a decade, with a view to reducing the risks and costs of cracking and damage in a wide range of materials.

Different approaches have been taken to creating such materials, depending on the kind of material that needs to be repaired: metals, plastics, or carbon composites.

These methods include creating materials which have micro-capsules containing a healing agent embedded within them, which are broken open when the material is damaged, releasing the healing fluid that hardens and fills the crack.

While effective, this method and others are limited by the small amount of healing agent that can be contained within the material without weakening it.

But new developments in self-healing technology have been pioneered by Prof Nancy Sottos and her team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, involving the impregnation of plastics with a fine network of channels, each less than 100 millionths of a metre in diameter, that can be filled with liquid resins.

These "micro-vascular" networks penetrate the material like an animal's circulation system, supplying healing agent to all areas, ready to be released whenever and wherever a crack appears.

Limitations still blight this technology however, as the healing process relies on the slow wicking action and diffusion of the healing agent into a crack.

The researchers have therefore taken another lesson from biology to improve on the self-healing material's performance.

Cracking experiment

"In a biological system, fluids are pumping and flowing," said Prof Sottos, so they have devised a way to actively pump fluids into their micro-vascular networks.

Syringes on the outside of the material put healing fluids under pressure so that when a crack appears, a constant pressure drives the fluid into the cracks.

In the experiments that Prof Sottos' team carried out, two parallel channels are created in a plastic and pumped with a liquid resin and a hardening chemical that triggers the resin to solidify.

When a crack forms, both micro-channels are breached and the two liquids are pumped into the damaged area.

The researchers experimented with pumping the liquids in pulses so that first the resin was pushed into the crack, and then the hardener, in repeating cycles.

This, they found, was the most efficient way of filling large cracks and ensuring the widest spread of the healing agents.

"Micro-capsule technology will enable damaged openings around 50-100 [millionths of a metre] to be filled, whereas pumping healing agents through a micro-vascular network can fill major cracks up to a millimetre across," said Prof Sottos.

Double duty

Having demonstrated the improved repair that an actively pressurised system provides, the researchers hope that the technology can be utilised in engineering and construction applications with a little further development.

The method of constructing the materials is already well refined, using 3-D scaffolds of "sacrificial fibres" that mould the network of channels within a synthetic material, that are then destroyed in the final stage of production.

In the experimental work that Prof Sottos and her group have carried out, the pumps have been on the outside of the material, but she explained: "We would like to incorporate pumps into the material itself, perhaps pressure or magnetically driven."

Many large-scale structures where self-healing materials would be most useful, for example in aeroplanes and spacecraft, already have hydraulic systems built into them.

Prof Sottos envisaged these hydraulic systems being harnessed to perform a "double duty" in providing pressure for their self-healing materials.

The team are next looking into how the self-healing system can be integrated seamlessly into large-scale civil infrastructures, and how it can be optimised to provide the most healing potential.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Amazon unveils Kindle Fire tablet

28 September 2011 Last updated at 11:06 ET

Amazon has unveiled a colour tablet computer called the Kindle Fire.

The $199 (�130) device will run a modified version of Google's Android operating system.

Until now, the company has limited itself to making black and white e-readers, designed for consuming books and magazines.

As well as targeting Apple's iPad, Amazon is likely to have its sights on rival bookseller US Barnes & Noble, which already has a colour tablet.

The Kindle Fire will enter a hugely competitive market, dominated by Apple's iPad.

Amazon will be hoping to leverage both the strength of the Kindle brand, built up over three generations of its popular e-book reader, and its ability to serve up content such as music and video.

In recent years, the company has begun offering downloadable music for sale, and also has a streaming video-on-demand service in the United States. Those, combined with its mobile application store, give it a more sophisticated content "ecosystem" than most of its rivals.

Lower priced

Digital content has already proved itself to be a money-spinner for Amazon.

Although the company has never released official sales figures for the Kindle, it did state - in December 2010 - that it was now selling more electronic copies of books than paper copies.

Its US rival, Barnes & Noble, has also enjoyed success with its Nook devices.

In October 2010, the company unveiled the Nook Color, which also runs a version of Android, albeit with lower hardware specs than many fully featured tablets.

While the Nook Color is largely focused on book and magazine reading, some users have managed to unlock its wider functionality and install third-party apps.

The Kindle Fire's $199 (�130) price tag undercuts the Nook Color by $50 (�30) and is significantly cheaper than more powerful tablets from Apple, Samsung, Motorola and others.

It is due to go on sale on 15 November in the US, although global release dates are currently unavailable.

Google boosts Silicon Roundabout

28 September 2011 Last updated at 06:23 ET

Google is to provide office space and assistance to new technology companies in London's "Silicon Roundabout".

The company has leased a seven-storey building in the Old Street area, where many start-up firms are based.

Prime Minister David Cameron has signalled his desire to turn the area into "one of the world's great technology centres".

About 300 companies are now working in the area, according to Tech City, the body set up to promote the initiative.

Google said that the building, in Bonhill Street, would host "a range of activities, such as speaker series, hackathons, training workshops and product demonstrations" in addition to providing workspace for new companies.

The California-based company stressed that it was not moving its UK headquarters - currently in central London - to the area.

Many millionaires

Eric Van Der Kleij, chief executive of the Tech City Investment Organisation, said that partnering established technology companies with fresh talent could be beneficial to both parties.

Google's Innovation Hub may be a "creative space" - but there's no sign that its researchers will be spending any time there creating anything new.

To be fair, the company's press release stresses that is just the first stage in making its commitment to Tech City a reality.

So, yes, it's a good day for east London's technology ambitions.

But if the vision outlined by the prime minister is to be realised, then the area will need to see companies like Google, Intel and Cisco fill the lofts and warehouses around the Silicon Roundabout with engineers as well as events organisers.

"What [companies like Google] do by having a firm footing in the community is provide a channel for innovation, to partner with them and potentially even sell to them," he told BBC News.

"It accelerates the process of the entrepreneur doing a tech startup, selling for a lot of money, creating a lot of millionaires within their organisation and creating recyclable wealth - then going out to do more innovation."

Large corporations have been lending support to young entrepreneurs in the area for some time.

The nearby Tech Hub project, which offers accommodation and business support, is supported by Google, media group Pearson and software firm BlueVia.

Telecoms companies, including BR and Virgin Media are also making the area a priority for installing ultra-fast broadband connections.

The Silicon Roundabout initiative has been championed by the prime minister as a model for developing the UK's knowledge economy.

Speaking in November 2010, David Cameron said that it was possible to learn lessons from Silicon Valley in the US.

"Go with the grain of what is already there. Don't interfere so much that you smother. But do help out wherever you can.

"Help to create the right framework, so it's easier for new companies to start up, for venture capital firms to invest, for innovations to flourish, for businesses to grow," said the prime minister.

Google expects its new East London Facility to open in 2012, following a major refurbishment.

US to probe HTC's Apple complaint

27 September 2011 Last updated at 22:59 ET

A US trade watchdog will investigate a claim by Taiwanese phone firm HTC that its rival Apple has infringed its patents.

HTC filed the complaint with the US International Trade Commission (USITC) in August.

It is one of three that HTC has filed against Apple.

Apple has also accused HTC of copying its technology, and other global companies are also involved in what is being called a global patent war.

Korea's Samsung is currently fighting Apple in a number of European courts, as well as Australia.

In HTC's claim, which the US International Trade Commission (USITC) will investigate, the Taiwanese firm alleges that Apple has infringed its patents in smart phones, tablet computers and computers.

HTC is seeking to block the import of Apple products into the US.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Three pleads for spectrum share

27 September 2011 Last updated at 08:16 ET

Mobile firm Three has warned that it may begin running out of capacity in urban areas by the end of next year if spectrum auctions do not go ahead.

Networks increasingly face congestion as the demand for data soars.

Auctions to free up space for next generation mobile services are earmarked for mid-2012 although Three said that the timetable was "already slipping".

It said it was vital the firm got its fair share of new spectrum.

It also warned that its rivals may attempt to delay the process.

"There is a huge financial incentive for rival operators to delay the auction. We are worried that the other three will attempt to squeeze us out of the market," said Three chief executive David Dyson at a press briefing in London.

Ofcom is due to re-evaluate the fees operators pay for 2G spectrum once the auction is complete.

"The more that is bid for new spectrum the more operators will pay in fees for existing spectrum. They will only start paying the fees from the end of the auction so there is an incentive to delay it," explained Ovum analyst Matthew Howett.

Spectrum allocation in the UK is hugely complex. Historically O2 and Vodafone own all the UK's 2G airwaves because they were the only operators in the market when that spectrum was handed out.

While other European countries have reallocated their 2G spectrum among newer players that hasn't happened in the UK.

Earlier this year Ofcom agreed to allow O2 and Vodafone to re-use parts of the 2G network for 3G services.

While it eased capacity issues for them, it led Three to complain that the playing field for mobile operators was becoming increasingly uneven.

As a sweetener, Ofcom said that it would impose a cap on the amount of spectrum companies could win at the auction to ensure 3 remained a key player in the market.

"It has made it clear that it wants Three in the market and that it values Three's disruptive influence," said Mr Howett.

Rivals are not happy and have threatened legal action over the caps.

"They argue that it is legal state aid," said Mr Howett.

O2 is awaiting the final details of how the auction will work - expected from Ofcom in November - but did not rule out the possibility of further challenges.

"We are focused on a constructive and ongoing dialogue with Ofcom on its proposals. Even if some further consultation is required, it won't delay the availability of 4G, as the spectrum itself will not be available until 2013. The key is to get the auction right," said an O2 spokesperson.

The 4G auctions will sell off spectrum in the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bandwidths.

The first has been freed up by the switchover to digital TV and is particularly valuable to operators because its low frequency means it can cover larger areas and penetrate buildings.

Three currently has the poorest in-building coverage of all the operators.

The huge demand for data has been putting the squeeze on all networks, particularly Three, and the 2.6GHz band will help ease such issues.

Mr Dyson admitted that capacity in large urban areas such as London would begin to run out by the end of next year but he remains confident it won't affect customers.

"I believe the auction will go ahead next year and therefore congestion will not happen," he said.

"We have been assured by the government and Ofcom that distortions will be rebalanced when the auction happens," he said.

But he added that the timetable for the auction process was already slipping.

"Ofcom originally planed to come back to industry with its plans in September or October but that is now likely to be the end of the year or the beginning of the next," he said.

But Mr Howett remains convinced the delays will not affect the auction.

"It is a hugely ambitious timetable, trying to do in 18 months what took three years for 3G, but most are optimistic it can still be met," he said.

Whether rivals will take the legal action they have threatened remains to be seen but pressure will be put on them to push ahead with the process.

"Jeremy Hunt has said that he doesn't want it to be delayed and they will have him breathing down their necks saying 'don't get in the way'", said Mr Howett.

As part of its push to make data more available, Three is dropping the price of its popular all-you-can-eat data plan to �18 a month.

'Smart' window to save energy

27 September 2011 Last updated at 10:18 ET

A new type of "smart" window that switches from summer to winter mode has been made by South Korean scientists.

The window darkens when the outside air temperatures soar, and becomes transparent when it gets cold in order to capture free heat from the sun.

Similar windows already exist, but the researchers say their method allows for an almost instantenous switch from opaque to transparent.

This may help save more energy, the team writes in the journal ACS Nano.

"This type of light control system may provide a new option for saving on heating, cooling and lighting costs through managing the light transmitted into the interior of a house," said the scientists.

"Smart windows can prevent the inside of a building from becoming overheated by reflecting away a large fraction of the incident sunlight in summer.

"Alternatively, they can help keep a room warm by absorbing the sun's heat in winter."

New approach

The existing technology uses charged particles called ions sandwiched between panes of glass.

Electric current is then applied to switch the window from opaque to clear and back.

"Start Quote

[If] you're allowing light in much quicker, this can reduce the amount of heat loss out of houses or increase the cooling in summer"

End Quote Dr Steven Morris Technology Strategy Board

But Ho Sun Lim from Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Jeong Ho Cho and Jooyong Kim from Soongsil University decided on a different approach.

They used a special polymer, a different sort of charged particles known as counterions and solvents such as methanol.

The report states that the result was a glass that was a lot cheaper to manufacture and much less toxic than those currently available on the market.

The window is able to switch from 100% opaque to almost completely clear in a matter of seconds, said the authors.

Instantaneous switch

Although "dimming" windows already exist, it is often necessary to switch them from winter to summer mode and back manually, using additional equipment such as home-automation panels.

"Until now, the numerous technologies developed not only have been chemically unstable, prohibiting their use in long-term switching applications but have been accompanied by the use of expensive special equipment and complicated harsh processing conditions," stated the report.

Dr Stephen Morris from the UK's Technology Strategy Board said that if the new method allows the window to switch from opaque to transparent and back pretty much instantaneously, then it is going to be a real benefit in terms of energy savings.

"That would mean that you're allowing light in much quicker - and this can reduce the amount of heat loss out of houses or increase the cooling in summer," he said.

Harvard site in Syria hack attack

26 September 2011 Last updated at 13:17 ET By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent

Harvard University has had its website hacked in what appears to be a "sophisticated" Syrian-related attack.

Along with a picture of Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, the hacked home page showed a message saying the "Syrian Electronic Army Were Here".

A further message made terror threats against the United States and criticised its opposition to the Assad regime.

Harvard said this has been the work of a "sophisticated individual or group".

"The university's homepage was compromised by an outside party this morning. We took down the site for several hours in order to restore it. The attack appears to have been the work of a sophisticated individual or group," said a Harvard spokesman.

The website was hacked on Monday morning by what appeared to be sympathisers of President Assad of Syria, with a picture of the president in military uniform appearing in front of a Syrian flag.

This was linked to another image of Syrian national colours, with a message accusing the United States of involvement in the uprisings against President Assad.

Violence threat

It told readers: "This site has been breached to spread our message even if illegally."

The message, claimed on this webpage as coming from the Syrian Cyber Army, accused the United States of supporting a "policy of killing" in Syria.

In fragmented English, it also carried a threat of violent attack.

"Do you support the war on Syria? If you are you, as well as the following Syria's population of 23 million people. This means 23 million mobile bomb. Imagine what we could do."

A Harvard spokesman suggested there had been a pattern of a growing number of such electronic attacks.

"Recent months have seen a rise in frequency and sophistication of these attacks, with hacking groups increasingly on the offensive and targeting news media, government and education websites," said a Harvard spokesman.

"We are analysing this event and will use the findings to improve our security practices for an environment that is seeing escalating threats."

India imposes text message limit

27 September 2011 Last updated at 00:53 ET

The telecoms regulator in India has put a cap on the number of text messages which can be sent from a mobile phone.

Under the new rules, no-one will be able to send more than 100 texts in a day, officials say.

The ruling is expected to be a big relief for millions of mobile phone users who have to deal with dozens of unsolicited text messages every day.

India has made several attempts in the past to rein in tele-marketing firms who bombard mobile phone users.

A BBC correspondent in Delhi says all the earlier attempts to deal with unwanted commercial messages and calls have been unsuccessful.

Subscribers can currently register their numbers with a "national do not call" list by sending a message to 1909.

In December, India announced plans to impose heavier fines on tele-marketing firms who called or sent text messages to those registered on a "national do not call" list.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) also barred commercial calls or messages between 9pm and 9am.

But the messages continue to be received late at night, sometimes even at 3am, our correspondent adds.

Many people have complained that they feel harassed by calls and text messages from tele-marketers trying to sell everything from credit cards to real estate to "slim sauna belts for weight loss".

Trai officials say the number of unsolicited commercial calls have come down drastically since the "do not call" registry was launched in 2007, but the number of text messages went up exponentially.

The daily cap of 100 messages per phone is expected to deal with the problem, they say.

India has the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world, with more than 700 million subscribers.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Virtual monkeys write Shakespeare

26 September 2011 Last updated at 07:31 ET

A few million virtual monkeys are close to re-creating the complete works of Shakespeare by randomly mashing keys on virtual typewriters.

A running total of how well they are doing shows that the re-creation is 99.990% complete.

The first single work to be completed was the poem A Lover's Complaint.

Set up by programmer Jesse Anderson the project co-ordinates the virtual monkeys sitting on Amazon's EC2 cloud computing system via a home PC.

Mr Anderson said he started the project as a way to get to know the Hadoop programming tool better and to put Amazon's web services to the test.

It is also a practical test of the thought experiment that wonders whether an infinite number of monkeys pounding on an infinite number of typewriters would be able to produce Shakespeare's works by accident.

Mr Anderson's virtual monkeys are small computer programs uploaded to Amazon servers. These coded apes regularly pump out random sequences of text.

Each sequence is nine characters long and each is checked to see if that string of characters appears anywhere in the works of Shakespeare. If not, it is discarded. If it does match then progress has been made towards re-creating the works of the Bard.

To get a sense of the scale of the project, there are about 5.5 trillion different combinations of any nine characters from the English alphabet.

Mr Anderson's monkeys are generating random nine-character strings to try to produce all these strings and thereby find those that appear in Shakespeare's works.

Mr Anderson kicked off the project on 21 August using Amazon's cloud computers. Each day of virtual monkey keyboard mashing processing cost $19.20 (�12.40).

The project has been moved to a home PC to speed up text string generation and to cut the cost. To make the task even easier the text being sampled has had all the spaces and punctuation removed.

Mathematicians said the constraints Mr Anderson introduced to the project mean he will complete it in a reasonable amount of time.

"If he's running an evolutionary approach, holding on to successful guesses, then he'll get there," said Tim Harford, popular science writer and presenter of the BBC's radio show about numbers More or Less.

And without those constraints?

"Not a chance," said Dr Ian Stewart, emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick.

His calculations suggest it would take far, far longer than the age of the Universe for monkeys to completely randomly produce a flawless copy of the 3,695,990 or so characters in the works.

"Along the way there would be untold numbers of attempts with one character wrong; even more with two wrong, and so on." he said. "Almost all other books, being shorter, would appear (countless times) before Shakespeare did."

Earlier experiments have shown how difficult the task is. Wikipedia mentions a 2003 project that used computer programs to simulate a lot of monkeys randomly typing.

After the equivalent of billions and billions and billions of monkey years the simulated apes had only produced part of a line from Henry IV, Part 2.

Also in 2003, Paignton Zoo carried out a practical test by putting a keyboard connected to a PC into the cage of six crested macaques. After a month the monkeys had produced five pages of the letter "S" and had broken the keyboard.

Warning about cost of rogue apps

25 September 2011 Last updated at 19:01 ET

The premium rate regulator has uncovered two cases of smartphone apps charging users without their knowledge or consent.

Now the regulator, Phonepayplus, has issued plans for more protection for consumers from rogue traders in the industry.

In one case an app automatically sent and received text messages that could cost the user �4.50 each.

It was shut down by the regulator.

Now Phonepayplus has started consultation on proposals that consumers' consent to charge is clearer, password requirements are strengthened to prevent children buying items, and there is more explanation of the cost of virtual credit.

"We need to be nimble and flexible in our approach. We know that the best regulation is one that works collaboratively with industry to pre-empt problems that harm consumers and damage markets," said Paul Whiteing, Phonepayplus chief executive.

"We will not hesitate to use our robust sanctioning powers to drive out rogue providers who could damage a vital part of the UK's growing and innovative digital and creative economies."

Friday, September 23, 2011

Via sues Apple in US over chips

23 September 2011 Last updated at 05:48 ET

Taiwanese chip designer Via is suing Apple claiming the US firm has infringed patents it owns.

Via said the disputed ideas were used in Apple TV, the iPod, iPad and iPhone and the software they run on.

The patents involve the ways chips in these products use, transfer and manipulate data.

Via has filed a complaint with both an American district court and the US International Trade Commission.

The company's boss Wen-Chi Chen said the firm was "determined to protect our interests and the interests of our stockholders" in a statement about the lawsuit.

The legal action is widely believed to be connected to an ongoing dispute between Apple and Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC. Mr Chen is married to HTC's chairwoman Cher Wang, who co-founded both businesses.

Earlier rounds in the legal fight between the two saw Apple rack up a win as the HTC was found to have infringed two Apple patents. HTC has said it plans to appeal against that ruling.

HTC has filed three separate lawsuits against Apple over patents used in mobiles and tablets.

Apple has yet to issue a statement about the Via lawsuit.

The latest action is one of many patent spats in which Apple is involved. The company has taken action itself against Samsung in the US, Europe, Australia and South Korea. These have led to a ban on the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany and bans on three smartphones in Holland.

In retaliation, Samsung has taken Apple to court in France and has counter-sued in the Netherlands.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Facebook focuses on media sharing

22 September 2011 Last updated at 16:39 ET

Facebook has outlined plans to encourage users to share more of the media they consume - including music and movies - with friends.

Its founder Mark Zuckerberg also unveiled a dramatic redesign to the website, replacing user profiles with an audio visual timeline of their life.

The updates were revealed at Facebook's annual F8 developer conference.

A wave of new features in recent weeks have been welcomed by some users and caused annoyance to many others.

Facebook's latest changes point to a desire to keep users engaged through new features, in the midst of rapid innovation from social networking rivals.

The site's application platform has been redesigned to allow users to share what they are consuming on streaming music services such as Spotify, and the movie rental site Netflix.

"Start Quote

...knowing you helped a friend discover something new and they liked your taste in music, and that you now have that in common is awesome"

End Quote Mark Zuckerberg Facebook founder

News sites, including the Guardian and Independent newspapers, are also included in the initial roll out.

Depending on privacy settings, users will be able to see what friends are doing - for example, playing a song - then listen-in themselves.

Mr Zuckerberg said he wanted to create, what he called, "real time serendipity".

"Being able to click on someone's music is a great experience, but knowing you helped a friend discover something new and they liked your taste in music, and that you now have that in common is awesome," he added.

Facebook said that users would only be able to do as much on the site as its media partners allowed in each country, so free music sharing through streaming apps would only work where that service was already available outside Facebook.

New look

Alongside the deeper integration of media content, the restyling of Facebook's profile pages is also likely to prove a hot topic among users.

The most radical departure so far from the site's well known profile format will doubtless prove contentious with its sometimes conservative members.

Identities will now be defined through a densely packed vertical timeline of major life events, made up of photos, videos and other items. The level of detail diminishes the further down a reader scrolls.

Profile pages had previously been limited to basic information along with a stream of every single item posted by a user.

The latest offering is significantly different to those of Facebook's biggest social networking rivals, Google+ and Twitter, and more closely resembles the once-popular site Myspace.

"Facebook is positioning itself as not just your social graph online, but your life online," Forrester Research analyst Sean Corcoran told the Associated Press.

"These changes not only help trump rival Google but will open up new opportunities," he said. "But concerns around privacy and immaturity in how to do these things effectively will make it a slow go."

Facebook stressed that all of its new offerings could be controlled by members using its recently simplified privacy controls.

In particular, it stressed that timeline items could be modified within the new "activity log", allowing users to limit who can view certain events from their past.

The updates are expected to start appearing on users' computers in coming weeks.

HP replaces its chief executive

22 September 2011 Last updated at 16:35 ET

Leo Apotheker has been replaced as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard by Meg Whitman, the former head of eBay.

Mr Apotheker was in the job less than a year, but had overseen a collapse in the share price and a fall in sales.

Ms Whitman, who once ran for governor of California, resigned from eBay in 2008 and is credited with building it into a global force.

HP announced the departure after board meeting on Thursday, but there had been speculation for days about his future.

In a statement, Ray Lane, who was named executive chairman, said: "We are fortunate to have someone of Meg Whitman's calibre and experience step up to lead HP.

"We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead."

Ms Whitman said in a statement: "I am honored and excited to lead HP. I believe HP matters - it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world."

It would be the second time in two years Mr Apotheker has been forced out of a top job. He stood down from German business software maker SAP last year, after less than a year as chief executive.

He took over HP after the departure of former boss Mark Hurd, who quit after a sexual harassment investigation.

The new chief replaced a third of the HP board, brought in Ms Whiman, annouced plans to sell the personal comptuer division - the world's largest - and bought UK software maker Autonomy for �7.1bn ($11.7bn).

But his strategy has failed to impress investors. HP's shares have fallen 45.4% this year, making it one of the worst performers in the Dow Jones index of leading US companies.

TalkTalk tops UK complaints list

22 September 2011 Last updated at 08:00 ET

TalkTalk is the most complained about provider of broadband and phone services, according to the latest data from industry regulator Ofcom.

From April to June, it topped the list of angry customer correspondence, while Virgin Media attracted fewest complaints.

However, Ofcom noted that TalkTalk had got better since its last report.

In mobile, the most complaints were about 3, driven by disputed charges and customer service issues.

Over the same period, O2 was the least complained about.

Ofcom published its first report of this kind in October last year, when TalkTalk and 3 also featured as the most problematic firms.

As a direct result of the 1,000 complaints it received last year, Ofcom slapped a �3m fine on TalkTalk and its Tiscali UK subsidiary for incorrectly billing more than 65,000 customers for services they had not received.

It was the largest fine that the regulator has given to a telecoms firm.

TalkTalk, which bought Tiscali UK in 2009, blamed the billing errors on the amalgamation of the Tiscali UK business.

It has since paid more than �2.5m in refunds and goodwill payments to affected customers.

Temporary blip

Commenting on the latest report, Talk Talk said: "It's encouraging that Ofcom's data demonstrates that, following the Tiscali integration, the service we offer our customers has significantly improved in the last quarter with the number of complaints as a percentage of customers dropping by over 50%.

It added: "We're committed to providing good service alongside our best value and, while we clearly still have lots to do, we're confident that our customers are beginning to see the benefits of the changes we continue to make."

Mobile operator 3 described its increase in complaints as a "temporary blip".

"We are disappointed by these figures and we will work with Ofcom to better understand what is driving them," said a spokesman.

Identify issues

Ofcom's report includes providers with at least a 4% market share who generate at least 30 complaints in a month.

This covers around 89% of the fixed telephony, fixed broadband and mobile markets.

From October 2010 to April 2011, Ofcom received just over 70,000 complaints from members of the public.

Problems are not dealt with on an individual basis by the regulator, but are used to identify any particular issues that require new rules or an investigation into a particular company.

Ofcom advised consumers to follow their provider's complaints process in the first instance.

Google denies 'cooking' searches

21 September 2011 Last updated at 20:34 ET

Google's executive chairman has denied that the company fixes its search results to promote its own websites and services.

Eric Schmidt told a congressional hearing in Washington: "May I simply say that I can assure you we're not cooking anything."

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on anti-trust is looking at whether Google abuses its market position.

The US Federal Trade Commission is also investigating the same issue.

The website search giant faces a further continuing investigation by the European Commission.

'Extraordinary advantage'

Mr Schmidt told the senators: "Google does nothing to block access to any of the competitors and other sources of information."

When asked whether Google was a monopoly company, Mr Schmidt said the search engine giant was "in that area", adding that it recognised it had a special responsibility because of its market power.

In reference to software giant Microsoft - which faced years of anti-competition investigations and subsequent fines - Mr Schmidt said: "We get it. By that I mean, we get the lessons of our corporate predecessors."

Concern over Google's domination of the internet search - it has a global market share of about two-thirds - has grown as the company continues to expand into other internet areas, such as its own price comparison website and buying US mobile phone firm Motorola Mobility.

Sen Michael Lee of Utah said that Google's market dominance gave it an "unnatural and extraordinary advantage", and it had a "clear and inherent conflict of interest".

Mr Schmidt was chief executive of Google for 10 years until April, when he was replaced by Larry Page, one of the company's two founders.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Babbage designs to be digitised

21 September 2011 Last updated at 08:00 ET

A project to construct one of the earliest mechanical computers based on sketches by its designer, Charles Babbage, has received a major boost.

The Science Museum in London has agreed to help by digitising the mathematician's original plans.

Eventually the images will be used to create a full working model of the Analytical Engine.

Conceived in the late 1830s, it foreshadowed the modern computer revolution by more than a century.

Babbage's many notepads and sketch books are currently held in the Science Museum's archives, but have never been converted into a form that is easily accessible.

It is hoped that the digital documents will allow researchers around the world to pick apart the many disparate ideas and settle on the definitive version of the machine.

"There are some complete plans, they are just not totally complete. There will be a degree of interpretation," said John Graham-Cumming, the programmer and computer historian who has been championing the project.

Mr Graham-Cumming explained that, following a period of study, a computer simulation of the Analytical Engine would be produced before its eventual construction.

"The machine itself is going to be enormous, about the size of a small steam train, so the simulation is important to allow anyone access," added Mr Graham-Cumming.

Computing power

Another key figure in the drive to build the Analytical Engine is Doron Swade, the Science Museum's curator of computing who led the construction of Babbage's earlier design, the Difference Engine No.2 between 1989 and 1991.

Where the Difference Engine was essentially an early calculator, the more sophisticated Analytical Engine is closer to a complete computer, with input via punched cards, processing by its rotating mechanical barrels and output to a printer, plotter or ringing bell.

In terms of processing power, Mr Graham-Cumming said it was possible to make some rough estimates about the Analytical Engine's capability.

Its memory would be equivalent to around 675bytes, or just over half that of Sinclair's ZX81, released in 1981. A later proposal by Babbage called for 20KB of storage.

The machine's clock speed would work out at around 7Hz, compared to the ZX81's 3.2MHz. Current high end microprocessors currently run at around 3GHz, although their sophisticated architecture means they are many, many times more powerful.

"[The Analytical Engine] is actually quite fast given that it's all in cogs, so Babbage was thinking about something relatively powerful. Of course, we're far beyond that now," said Mr Graham-Cumming.

The project does not yet have a fixed timescale, although it was unlikely to produce anything physical for "at least five years".

Mr Graham-Cumming said he had set the goal of completing it by 2021 - the 150th anniversary of Charles Babbage's death.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Google+ opens service to everyone

20 September 2011 Last updated at 12:02 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Vivik Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of social business: "We think there's lots of room for innovation"

Google+ is being opened up for anyone to join after two-and-a-half months in closed testing.

The search firm's latest foray into social networking was initially offered to journalists and people working in technology related fields.

However, members' ability to invite friends meant its user base quickly grew to tens of millions.

Google+ has been praised for several innovative features including its multi person "hangouts" video chat.

Two weeks after it launched, the company announced that its service had attracted 10 million users.

It has not produced official figures since then, although estimates by web analytic firm Comscore put membership at 25 million by the end of the first month.

Despite users' apparently rapid uptake, research carried out by Australian web software maker 89n suggested that the rate of public posting was declining. The survey did not take account of private postings.

Social search

Alongside its full public launch, Google is adding several new features to the service, including video hangouts on Android smartphones - allowing multi-person chats.

Users will also be able to share the content of their computer screens with whoever they are talking to.

Another notable addition is the integration of search within Google+, allowing members to find results from socially shared information, as well as across the wider web.

The prospect of "social search" through Google would appeal to businesses, according to social networking specialist Matt Rhodes from Fresh Networks.

"Brands know that a lot of people who come to them come through search and anything they can do make themselves come up through the right terms or higher up the rankings is important. Commercially that is the opportunity," he said.

"If you are logged into Google and search for supermarkets, if some of my friends have plus 1'd Tesco or commented about it, that might push Tesco above Sainsbury's in my search results."

Rivals' response

The rise of Google+ has not gone un-noticed by its competitors.

Facebook has recently rolled out a number of innovations which many observers have characterised as a direct response to the Google challenge, although the company argues that these have been in the pipeline for far longer.

These include a revamp of the social network's friend system, making in easier to add people to categories, similar to Google Circles.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Facebook users would be able to connect their status updates directly to their Twitter feed, in a move that may enhance the appeal of both Google rivals.

Conversely, Google finds itself in the unusual position of being a minority player in the market, facing Twitter's 200 million users and Facebook's 750 million.

Vivik Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of social business told the BBC that he welcomed the competition.

"We suspect people use many different tools to share," he said.

"The most popular mechanism people use to share today is email. So we think there's lots of room for innovation."

Hacked security firm to shut down

20 September 2011 Last updated at 11:04 ET

Dutch security firm DigiNotar has filed for voluntary bankruptcy following a series of attacks by a hacker.

The attackers penetrated DigiNotar's internal systems and then issued fake security certificates so they could impersonate web firms.

The certificates are believed to have been used to eavesdrop on the Google email accounts of about 300,000 people.

The hacker behind the attacks claims to have penetrated four other firms that issue security certificates.

No tears

DigiNotar's parent company Vasco Data Security said the firm had been put into voluntary bankruptcy. A trustee for the business has been appointed who will oversee the winding up of DigiNotar.

The scale of the attack on DigiNotar began to be uncovered on 19 July when the firm said it first found evidence of an intrusion. It started to revoke certificates and an investigation was carried out to find out how much damage had been done.

An initial report found that hundreds of fake certificates had been issued and hackers had almost total access to DigiNotar's network.

The security certificates it and many other firms issue act as a guarantee of identity so people can be sure they are connecting to the site they think they are.

The fake certificates DigiNotar revoked were for some of the biggest net firms including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Skype.

It is thought the fake certificates for Google were used in Iran to peep at the email accounts of about 300,000 people.

Soon after discovering the attack, DigiNotar stopped issuing certificates altogether. Once wound up its business and assets will be folded into Vasco.

"We are working to quantify the damages caused by the hacker's intrusion into DigiNotar's system and will provide an estimate of the range of losses as soon as possible, " said Vasco in a statement.

It added that its network and systems remained separate from DigiNotar and, as a result, "there is no risk for infection of Vasco's strong authentication business".

Writing on the Sophos blog, Graham Cluley said few people would shed tears over the closure.

"The firm lost all trust when when it was discovered that it had known that it had suffered a security breach weeks before coming clean about the problem," he said.

Gamers help anti-AIDS drug quest

20 September 2011 Last updated at 08:33 ET

By Katia Moskvitch Technology reporter, BBC News

An online game has helped determine the structure of an enzyme that could pave the way for anti-AIDS drugs.

The game, called Foldit, allows players to create new shapes of proteins by randomly folding digital molecules on their computer screens.

In the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, scientists write that they have been puzzled by the protein's structure for over a decade.

But it took the online community just a few days to produce the enzyme's model.

Proteins are extremely complex organic compounds that everything is made of, and an enzyme is a particular type of protein.

The enzyme the gamers were presented with is called M-PMV retroviral protease. It is used by the HIV virus to grow and develop into AIDS.

Scientists all over the world have been trying to come up with anti-AIDS drugs that could block these harmful enzymes, but it was tricky as the precise structure of the protein remained unknown.

Following simple rules, gamers playing Foldit had to turn and flip a digital 3D model of the enzyme on their computer screens, to try out all folding combinations that were possible.

They eventually obtained the optimum one - the state that needed the lowest energy to maintain.

"Start Quote

These results show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before"

End Quote Seth Cooper Foldit

Biochemist Firas Khatib of the University of Washington - where Foldit was created in 2008 - said that the goal was to see if "human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed".

The researchers were so impressed with the result that they even included some participating gamers as co-authors of the study.

Complex structures

Even a small protein is able to fold in a huge variety of different ways, and it is always a challenge, even for computers, to figure out which of the many possible structures is the best one.

"Foldit attempts to predict the structure of a protein by taking advantage of humans' puzzle-solving intuitions and having people play competitively to fold the best proteins," states the game's website.

"Since proteins are part of so many diseases, they can also be part of the cure.

"Players can design brand new proteins that could help prevent or treat important diseases."

To play, no previous knowledge of proteins, biochemistry or biology is required - all a user has to have is a computer and an internet connection.

Once a gamer downloads an easy-to-install plug-in, he or she can start competing with other players, rotating complex three dimensional molecular structures with a click of the mouse.

The goal is either to design an entirely new protein, or to predict a certain structure, so that once an online model is generated, scientists and biotech companies take over.

The latest breakthrough, according to the paper's authors, is the first time that online gamers have solved a longstanding scientific problem.

Seth Cooper, a co-creator of Foldit and its lead designer, said that games provide a framework "for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans".

"People have spatial reasoning, something computers are not yet good at," Dr Cooper said.

"These results show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before."

Results obtained by gamers playing Foldit have also helped scientists in Alzheimer's and cancer research.

Japan defence hit by cyber attack

20 September 2011 Last updated at 06:28 ET

Japan's top weapons maker has confirmed it was the victim of a cyber attack reportedly targeting data on missiles, submarines and nuclear power plants.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) said viruses were found on more than 80 of its servers and computers last month.

The government said it was not aware of any leak of sensitive information.

But the defence ministry has demanded MHI carry out a full investigation. Officials were angered after learning of the breach from local media reports.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Japan's defence minister Yasuo Ichikawa said the cyber attackers had not succeeded in accessing any important information but MHI would be instructed "to undertake a review of their information control systems".

"The ministry will continue to monitor the problem and conduct investigations if necessary," Mr Ichikawa added.

All government contractors are obliged to inform ministers promptly of any breach of sensitive or classified information.

Analysis

The Ministry of Defence has said the delay in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries informing it of the cyber attack is "regrettable" - a bland term regularly deployed by Japanese bureaucrats to describe everything from near indifference to utter outrage.

But it is clear there is concern in Japan about security at the country's biggest defence contractor.

Mitsubishi Heavy makes everything from warships to missiles. The giant company says it discovered the breach in mid- August, and informed the Japanese police at the end of the month.

But the defence ministry was not told until Monday afternoon, after reports had appeared in local media.

The key issue is just how serious the attack was - and whether any of Japan's defence secrets have leaked.

Mitsubishi Heavy says the virus was confined to just 45 servers and 38 computer terminals - out of the many thousands it operates.

An ongoing internal investigation has found only network information, such as IP addresses, has been compromised.

"It's up to the defence ministry to decide whether or not the information is important. That is not for Mitsubishi Heavy to decide. A report should have been made," a defence ministry spokesman was earlier quoted by Reuters as saying.

Better protection

The online attacks - which are believed to be the first of their kind against Japan's defence industry - originated outside the company's computer network, MHI said.

They have been described as spear phishing attacks - when hackers send highly customised and specifically targeted messages aimed at tricking people into visiting a fake webpage and giving away login details.

Neither the Japanese government nor MHI have said who may be responsible. A report in one Japanese newspaper said Chinese language script was detected in the attack against MHI.

But China rebuffed suggestions it could be behind the attacks.

"China is one of the main victims of hacking... Criticising China as being the source of hacking attacks not only is baseless, it is also not beneficial for promoting international co-operation for internet security," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

China has in the past been accused of carrying out online attacks on foreign government agencies and firms - claims Beijing has always denied.

MHI confirmed that 45 of its servers and 38 computers were infected by at least eight viruses.

The viruses targeted a shipyard in Nagasaki, where destroyers are built, and a facility in Kobe that manufactures submarines and parts for nuclear power stations, public broadcaster NHK reported.

A plant in Nagoya, where the company designs and builds guidance and propulsion systems for rockets and missiles, was also reportedly compromised.

MHI said it had consulted the Tokyo police department and was carrying out an investigation alongside security experts, which should be concluded by the end of the month.

Lockheed case

A second defence contractor, IHI, which supplies engine parts for military aircraft, said it had also been targeted.

IHI said it had been receiving emails containing viruses for months, but its security systems had prevented infection.

There are also reports that Japanese government websites, including the cabinet office and a video distribution service, have been hit by distributed denial-of-service attacks.

A typical DDoS attack involves hundreds or thousands of computers, under the control of hackers, bombarding an organisation's website with so many hits that it collapses.

Last month, a Japanese defence white paper urged better protection against cyber attacks after US defence contractors were hit by a spate of assaults.

One of the most high-profile cases involved Lockheed Martin - the world's biggest aerospace company, which makes F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets as well as warships.

Although the firm said none of its programmes were compromised in the attack in May, it prompted other defence contractors to assess their own security measures.

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