Lenovo auctions final notebooks

Nine days ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games, top Olympic sponsor Lenovo kicked off the final Olympic notebook auction in London, says GamesBids.com.

The auction will run for 10 days, closing on 8 August at 19:00. The auction features a limited edition red notebook PC inspired by the Lenovo-designed Olympic torch, giving technology and Olympic fans across the country one last chance to own a part of Olympic history signed by Olympic silver medallist and badminton star Gail Emms.

Lenovo is donating proceeds from the auction to the thousands of victims of the Sichuen earthquake earlier this year, and to other Lenovo Hope Fund charities across the world.

The University of Jos last week emerged the only university in Nigeria to benefit from Hewlett-Packard's $3.6 million corporate social responsibility project aimed at empowering 36 universities in Europe, Middle East and Africa, with cash and equipment, says Vanguard.

Other beneficiaries in Africa include the Makerere University Uganda and University of South Africa.

The corporate social responsibility fund, according to HP, comes as grant under the company's commitment to innovative education and transformation of students achievements through the use of technology in the classroom.

Animal charity The Blue Cross has introduced a viral campaign featuring talking pets that can read news headlines or say whatever their owner commands, says Brand Republic.

The "virtual pets", which have been created using text-to-speech technology, aim to raise awareness of the charity's new social network for pet lovers, Allaboutpets.org.uk.

Users can create their own talking pet by choosing from a selection of virtual dogs and cats, or by uploading a picture of their own pet. Technology from avatar specialists Oddcast allows the virtual pets to be customised with accessories and animated backgrounds, while uploaded images can be fitted with an appropriate mouth.