UK watchdog blacklists Wikipedia

Wikipedia has been blacklisted by a British online child pornography watchdog, causing almost every Internet user in Britain to be blocked from contributing to the site anonymously, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

The British government-backed Internet Watch Foundation blacklisted Wikipedia over an article on the 1976 album Virgin Killer, by German heavy metal band Scorpions.

At issue was a screen shot of the album cover, published with the article, that featured a naked, young girl with her genitals obscured by a simulated tear in the photograph.

Intel is claiming "world record" performance in optical communications using silicon photonics, in a development announced in the journal Nature Photonics, says CNET News.

Silicon photonics-based photo dectors are used to send and receive optical information, particularly in high-bandwidth applications like supercomputers. Intel says silicon photonics is essential for "ultra-fast transfer of data [in] future computers powered by many processor cores".

The development is significant because it is based on silicon - a readily available, low-cost material used in semiconductor chips today - and outperforms more exotic, pricier materials.

Wal-Mart Stores will become the second mass-market retail chain to start selling Apple's iPhone, with two store representatives saying the world's largest retailer will carry two models of the Web-surfing handset this month, according to Bloomberg.

Employees in the cellphone departments at five California stores said Wal-Mart will offer iPhones by the end of December. Employees are being trained on how to sell the device, all five said.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs tapped Best Buy, the largest US electronics retailer, in September to sell the device as he works to win more buyers. Before then, the iPhone had been sold only by Apple and AT&T, the exclusive provider of wireless service for the phone in the US.

British customs officials issued a pre-Christmas warning on Friday after seizing fake Nintendo game consoles with potentially dangerous power adaptors, says Reuters.

"At best, these consoles would have led to disappointment on Christmas morning. At worst, they could have caused serious harm or injury," said Pamela Rogers, from HM Revenue and Customs.

The products, versions of Nintendo DS and DS Lite, which had been bought from Web sites mainly based in Asia, cost about £40 instead of the usual £100.