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MySpace donates offender database

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist
Johannesburg, 30 Jan 2007

MySpace donates offender database

MySpace will donate a database on US sex offenders to a centre that tracks missing children, reports Computer World.

The database, which combines close to 50 US state registries on convicted sex offenders, will be donated to the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. The centre will use the database to help law enforcement investigations.

MySpace's critics say the measure fails to address a central threat to youngsters on its network from adult sex predators who pose as teens, a problem they say could be fixed with steps to verify users' ages on the site.

eBay bans virtual goods auctions

eBay has confirmed its decision to ban auctions for the characters, currency, weapons, attire and accounts of online games such as World of Warcraft, City of Heroes and others, reports Slashdot.

The ban does not affect the virtual world Second Life, the report says.

In most cases, publishers of online games include in their terms of service a prohibition on so-called real-money trades, in which people buy and sell online games' virtual assets for real money. Players who violate such rules can be banned.

Nickelodeon creates virtual world for kids

Nickelodeon will unveil "Nicktropolis", a virtual world that encourages kids to play games, watch TV and interact with animated characters, reports CNET News.

The children's cable network joins parent unit Viacom's MTV Networks in embracing virtual worlds as a way to showcase television programming and advertisements against a backdrop of 3D graphics, instant chat, games and shopping.

MTV operates the virtual world Laguna Beach and owns the virtual game NeoPets, among other Net properties.

Sony Ericcson makes most gains in 2006

Nokia is still the number one mobile-handset manufacturer in the world, according to market researcher iSuppli, reports CNET News.

However, Sony Ericcsson made the most notable gains in 2006, with shipments growing from 16.1 million units to 26 million units for the fourth quarter, moving it into the overall number four spot.

Finland-based Nokia shipped 348 million units in 2006, giving it a sizable lead over Motorola, which holds the number two spot. Motorola shipped 217.4 million units in 2006, a growth of 48.6% since 2005.

UK govt builds education super-database

The UK government plans to build an education super-database in which everyone from age 14 is given a single ID number, reports The Register.

The "Managing Information Across Partners" programme is an attempt to link all schools, colleges, training providers and universities across the UK to one database and so save on duplication costs.

However, a collection of academics, businessmen and local government officials say the project should be put on hold.

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