Three-dimensional films, once blamed for making audiences nauseous, are making a comeback and are likely to become the future of cinema thanks to digital technology, Hollywood studio moguls say.

Need help setting up that home computer or Internet connection? Frustrated by that new cell phone?

You`re not alone.

A survey released on Sunday found that nearly half of Americans need help from others booting up their new devices, and an even larger percentage need outside assistance when they encounter technical problems.

HONG KONG, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Jack Ma, the fresh-faced founder of the Alibaba Group is a former English teacher, who says he will put his employees' interests before those of shareholders even after an expected billion-dollar listing.

The 43-year-old from Hangzhou founded the Alibaba group in his apartment in 1999 as a way for small manufacturers to sell their goods both in China and across the world.

He now employs around 6,000 people in various businesses under the Alibaba umbrella, but insists the well-being of his employees remains his priority.

HONG KONG, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Chinese online trading firm, Alibaba.com, was Monday set to give retail investors details of its Hong Kong listing, in what is expected to be the largest Internet IPO ever by a mainland firm.

A company spokeswoman told AFP that a video press conference due at 6.00pm (1000 GMT) will provide details of the listing, which media reports have said could raise as much as 1.3 billion US dollars.

CHICAGO, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - A century after the first electric washing machines promised to take the work out of laundry, it doesn't seem like today's multi-cycle magicians are saving us much time.

Sure we don't have to boil the water and lug it by hand over to big metal tubs. Nor do we have to strain our arms running sopping wet clothes through a wringer thanks the advent of the spin cycle.

But, somehow, the pile of washing has managed to grow ever larger with every seemingly time-saving advance.

TOKYO, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - From a nightclub on wheels to a car shaped like a hat, many of the whacky vehicles unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show over the years have been consigned to the annals of auto history.

When Toyota wheeled out a futuristic Prius prototype in 1995 powered by a combination of petrol and electricity, many believed it would go the same way.

Twelve years later, its rivals are still trying to catch up and the hybrid will remain centre stage when the show gets under way again this week.

BANGALORE, India, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - Wipro, India's third-largest software maker, posted higher-than-expected second-quarter profit growth of 18 percent Friday on the back of overseas orders, new clients and a 600 million dollar US acquisition.

Profit rose to 8.237 billion rupees (208.4 million dollars) in the three months ended September 30, from 7.002 billion rupees a year earlier, the Bangalore-based company said. Revenue rose 35 percent to 47.84 billion rupees.

BANGALORE, India, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - Wipro, India's third-largest software maker, posted second-quarter profit growth of 18 percent on Friday on the back of large overseas orders and a 600 million dollar US aquisition.

Profit rose to 8.237 billion rupees (208.4 million dollars) in the three months ended September 30, from 7.002 billion rupees a year earlier, the Bangalore-based company said. Revenue rose 35 percent to 47.84 billion rupees.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Spending on computer technology will top a trillion dollars this year as the industry grows increasingly vital to national economies worldwide, according to a study by the technology market intelligence firm IDC released Thursday.

An analysis of 82 countries and regions found that information technology (IT) businesses -- computer hardware, software and services -- are major generators of jobs, companies and tax revenues.

SEOUL, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - After expanding across Earth, the Internet is now set to spread into outer space to reach parts no network has gone before, one of its co-creators predicted Wednesday.

Vinton Cerf said the proposed 'interplanetary' Internet would allow people an ability 'to access information and to control experiments taking place far away' from Earth.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Apple announced Tuesday that its new Leopard operating system will debut in stores on October 26, four months later than originally planned due to a shift of resources for the iPhone launch.

The Leopard operating system crafted for Apple's Macintosh computer boasts more than 300 new features and the "Ultimate" version is priced at 129 dollars.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs bills Leopard "the best upgrade we've ever released."

LONDON, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Britain prepared Tuesday to begin the switchover from analogue to digital television broadcasting, with a seaside town the first to make the move.

The BBC2 channel's analogue signal was to be switched off from around 2:00 am (0100 GMT) Wednesday in the northwest English resort of Whitehaven, affecting 25,000 households. The other analogue channels will be switched off on November 14.

Region by region, Britain is switching to digital broadcasting, due to be completed by 2012.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Intel Corp., the world's biggest computer chip maker, said Tuesday strong demand for mobile technology pushed up its third-quarter net profit 43 percent from a year ago to 1.9 billion dollars.

The Santa Clara, California, tech giant barely beat Wall Street expectations with a per-share profit of 31 cents, a penny ahead of most forecasts.

Revenues for the July-September period climbed 15 percent to a record 10.1 billion dollars.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Microsoft on Tuesday theatrically unveiled communications software it claims will do to business telephones what e-mail did to corporate memos.

"Unified Communications" technology, made globally available Tuesday, streamlines workplace communications and cuts the cost of using voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phones in half, according to the US software giant.

TAIPEI, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Leading Taiwan computer maker Asustek Computer Inc on Tuesday launched a low-cost laptop computer targeting children, elderly people, and low-income users in the developing world.

Asustek described "Eee PC" as easy to work, play and learn, which Asustek chief executive officer Johnny Shih said made it more competitive compared.

Asustek also aims to attract more general users hoping it could be seen as their second computer.

WASHINGTON, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - An influential US Congressional panel on Tuesday summoned top officials of Yahoo for a hearing after accusing the Internet giant of providing false information over a case in which a journalist was thrown in jail in China for a decade.

Tom Lantos, the chairman of the House of Representatives committee on foreign affairs, asked the officials to appear at the hearing planned for November 6 to discuss the circumstances under which Chinese journalist Shi Tao was jailed after Yahoo provided user information to Beijing.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Yahoo reported Tuesday that its third quarter profits dipped despite a rise in revenues and a nearly-completed corporate reorganization.

Yahoo's net income for the quarter was 151 million dollars, or 11 cents per share, compared to 159 million dollars in the same period last year. Wall Street analysts had expected Yahoo to post income of 12 cents per share.

Revenue rose to 1.77 billion from 1.58 billion in the same quarter in 2006.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - YouTube on Monday put in place software to block the posting of pirated videos and appease content owners that accuse the popular website of being a willing accomplice to copyright abuses.

YouTube Video Identification is billed as an anti-piracy platform custom built with the help of Google, which bought YouTube last year in a 1.65 billion dollar stock deal.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Yahoo reported Tuesday that its third quarter profits dipped despite a rise in revenues and a nearly-completed corporate reorganization.

Yahoo's net income for the quarter was 151 million dollars, or 11 cents per share, compared to 159 million dollars in the same period last year. Wall Street analysts had expected Yahoo to post income of 12 cents per share.

Revenue rose to 1.77 billion from 1.58 billion in the same quarter in 2006.

TOKYO, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Seiko Epson Corp. plans to enter the organic electroluminescent panels business in a move seen as increasing already severe competition in the flat-panel display sector, a report said Sunday.

Seiko Epson was seeking to take orders for the panels by the end of the year, as it has succeeded in extending the life span of OEL panels to compete with LCD and plasma displays, the Japanese daily Nikkei said, citing unnamed company sources.

TOKYO, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Japanese researchers say they have found a way to let people stroll through the virtual world of Second Life using their own imagination, in a development that could help paralysis patients.

Previous studies have shown people can move computer cursors through brain waves, but the Japanese team says it is the first to apply the technology to an Internet virtual world.

NEW YORK, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - The roman alphabet will lose some of its dominance of the Internet beginning Monday when the organization overseeing website addresses starts testing 11 new languages for domain names.

In a long-awaited break from its devotion to the Roman alphabet, ICANN -- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers -- announced Thursday that it will test registering website domain names in Arabic, Persian, Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Hebrew, Japanese, Tamil, and both simplified and traditional Chinese.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - The United States announced initiatives Thursday to combat illegal trafficking in weapons and sensitive technologies that could fall into the hands of Iran, China or terrorist groups.

The US government's effort targets 'the illegal export of sensitive American technology -- technology that includes a wide range of controlled US military items, dual-use technology, and other products -- some of which can be used in the development of weapons of mass destruction,' said Kenneth Wainstein, assistant US attorney general for national security.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - The United States announced Thursday a series of initiatives to combat illegal trafficking in weapons and sensitive technologies that could fall into the hands of rogue states such as Iran.

BANGALORE, India, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Indian software giant Infosys reported a second-quarter profit Thursday that met expectations on the back of new clients and higher fees to counter a surging rupee.

Profit rose 18.4 percent to 11 billion rupees (280 million dollars) in the quarter ended September 30, from 9.3 billion rupees a year earlier. Sales were up 19 percent to 41.06 billion rupees from 34.51 billion rupees.

'We have achieved a milestone by crossing one billion dollars in revenue this quarter,' chief executive Kris Gopalakrishnan told a news conference here.

TOKYO, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Japan's robotics industry is expected to show robust growth and remain the world leader thanks to growing exports to emerging economies, an industry group said Thursday.

While Japan has become famous for its cutting-edge humanoid robots, the industry's sales are almost all for industrial robots, particularly those that help manufacture cars, electronics and other products.

BANGALORE, India, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Infosys Technologies, India's second-largest software firm, said Thursday second-quarter profit rose 18.4 percent as it won new clients and increased fees to counter a surging rupee.

Profit rose to 11 billion rupees (280 million dollars) in the quarter ended September 30, from 9.3 billion rupees a year earlier, Bangalore-based Infosys said. Sales rose 19 percent to 41.06 billion rupees from 34.51 billion rupees.

TOKYO, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Forget horsepower, top speed and miles per gallon. The cars of the future are all about making drivers feel warm, fuzzy and less guilty about damaging the planet.

Japanese automakers have taken the wraps off a clutch of futuristic new concept cars that put the emphasis on funky designs, low emissions and a new level of interaction between humans and their vehicles.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Google announced on Tuesday it is buying Jaiku, a Finnish startup specializing in letting friends use mobile telephones to share what they are doing at any given moment.

Google is making a priority of following Internet users as they go mobile and is even reported to be crafting a 'gphone' with an open-source software platform tailored to its online services.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Google is king of Internet search worldwide but rivals in China and South Korea have become powerhouses in their respective countries, a comScore study revealed on Tuesday.

The data was collected by the US Internet research firm in August to give its first global picture of the popularity of online search firms battling for devotees whose visits lead to precious advertising revenues.

PARIS, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Over the past decade, hard drives have shrunk to the size of postage stamps while their storage capacity has improved fifty-fold, a feat that can be traced to two men who won the 2007 Nobel Prize for Physics on Tuesday.

From MP3 players to cameras to laptops, most of the gadgets that store the digital threads from which our daily lives are increasingly woven owe their enhanced power to this hard-disk breakthrough.

STOCKHOLM, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - The 2007 Nobel prize season kicks off Monday with the announcement of the medicine prize and runs through October 15, with the fight against climate change tipped for the prestigious Peace Prize.

As is tradition, the Nobel prize committees are keeping mum ahead of the much-awaited announcements, leaving observers to engage in a wild guessing game.

HONG KONG, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Bidding began Tuesday for prime new pieces of Internet real estate with the launch of the '.asia' domain name, which aims to become one of the web's most desirable addresses.

The regional domain comes after the launch of the European-based .eu name last year and aims to join .com and .net as a widely used website suffix.

'The .asia domain acts like a channel or a portal, showing your commitment to the Asia market as a whole,' said Edmon Chung from DotAsia, a Hong Kong-based group that won the right to set-up the domain.

HONG KONG, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - The contract to provide carpeting on planes is perhaps not the most glamorous side of aviation.

But for Wilbert Beilsma, the export manager for Dutch carpet company Desso, the subtleties of the weave and the yarn can save an airline 4,000 euros (5,650 US) per plane in annual fuel costs if the carpet is lightweight enough.

It is a design they need to protect -- 'it's so secret not even NASA knows,' he says -- in order to grab more of the 10 percent worldwide market share Desso currently lays claim to.

WASHINGTON, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Israeli fighter planes may have managed to escape detection by Syrian radars during their September 6 raid by forcing the detection system to make a mistake, Aviation Week magazine reported.

US defense and industry officials believe Israeli F-15 and F-16 fighter jets may have been equipped with the US-developed 'Suter' airborne network attack system, the magazine said on its website.

TOKYO, Oct 6, 2007 (AFP) - As Japan greys, who will look after the elderly? Maybe one day their aging children -- in robot suits -- if technology under development comes out of the laboratory and into the home.

Among the array of futuristic products for the senior citizens or their caregivers on display at a trade fair this week in Tokyo was a power assist suit that makes it easier to lift an elderly person out of a wheelchair or bed.

LONDON, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Britain's Ministry of Defence said Friday it had selected US aviation giant Boeing and French electronics firm Thales as preferred bidders for a key part of a huge military project.

They were selected for the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) systems of systems integrator (SOSI) role which will coordinate the procurement of over 3,000 armoured vehicles.

The SOSI role involves ensuring that the vehicles can operate and communicate with satellites, fighter jets and warships.