Wikileaks under attack

Whistle-blowing Web site Wikileaks says it has come under attack from a computer-hacking operation, ahead of a release of secret US documents, reports the BBC.

"We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack," it said on its Twitter feed earlier.

It added that several newspapers will go ahead and publish the documents released to them by Wikileaks, even if the site goes down.

Online spending on Black Friday increased nearly 16% compared with last year, with social-networking sites gaining momentum as a source for shopping tips and mobile devices playing an increasingly important role, writes CNet.

According to numbers from Coremetrics, which culled data from the sites of more than 500 US retailers, including Bloomingdale's, Macy's, and Petco, online sales were up 15.9%, with the average order value rising about $20, from $170.19 to $190.80.

The researcher said though the percentage of shoppers arriving at retail sites from social-networking sites was still relatively small, the phenomenon was gaining momentum, with - not surprisingly - Facebook at the fore. Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the US.

Three of the four co-founders of popular file sharing site Pirate Bay have lost their appeal against convictions for helping users break Swedish copyright laws and had their fines raised by over one million pounds, notes V3.co.uk.

A Swedish appeals court said the convictions would stand, with the fine for three of the men, Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundstr"om, increased by £1.3 million to £4.1 million.

However, their prison sentences were reduced. Each member was originally sentenced to a year in prison, but now Neij must serve 10 months, Sunde eight months and Lundstr"om four.

China will investigate and prosecute Google next July if the search engine company does not acquire the necessary state licence to operate its Google Maps service in the country, according to the government, states PC World.

The deadline comes after the country's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping introduced regulations earlier this year that require all companies providing online mapping services to apply with the bureau for approval.

Google has yet to do so, the bureau said in an e-mail, adding that after 31 March of next year, companies without the licence will be exposed to the public. If the companies still do not have the licences by 1 July, the bureau will punish them according to the law.