EU to rule on Oracle-Sun deal

The European Commission will convene on 3 September to decide whether Oracle's proposed $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems can go ahead, or needs further investigation on anti-trust grounds, says Computing.co.uk.

The deal had already been delayed by the US Department of Justice, which said it needed more time to explore how the purchase may affect Java rights licensing.

Analyst firm Gartner, meanwhile, has argued that delays in closing the deal will be unsettling for customers wanting to buy hardware and software because Sun's terms and conditions are likely to change if the acquisition goes through.

Citing security concerns, the US Marine Corps has issued an order banning access to social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter on its network for the next year, reports Business Week.

The Pentagon is now reviewing its social networking policy for the entire Department of Defence, which should be completed by the end of September, according to a report from CNN.

The policy for the entire military is somewhat fragmented, as the Army ordered military bases to allow access to social media sites in May.

Google is adding a new feature to its Voice telephony service in hopes of making life easier for members of the military stationed oversees, says v3.co.uk.

The company said it would streamline the Voice signup process for members of the US military with an active .mil e-mail address. Additionally, the company is allowing family members to set up accounts for soldiers who have already deployed overseas.

Besides making calls through the service, Voice will also allow soldiers to send and receive voice messages online.

Police say a worrying number of teenagers are swapping intimate or sexually explicit photos, called "sexts", on their mobiles, reports the BBC.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre says it receives daily reports of harassment after private photos have been circulated. Some "sexts" have ended up on forums used by child sex offenders, it adds.

One in four 11- to 18-year-olds has received a "sext" by phone or e-mail, according to charity Beatbullying.