The virtual CEO of a virtual bank in virtual world game, Eve Online, has embezzled virtual currency to pay some very real bills. But he only broke the rules by attempting to make a real world profit from the scam.

A British consumer group says lawyers for software manufacturers are wrongly accusing people of putting video games on filesharing services. It argues this seriously brings into question the process used to identify offenders.

Officially China has indefinitely postponed the launch of the much-maligned Green Dam Youth Escort Internet filter. But the decision appears to be motivated by practical needs rather than principles.

The Pirate Bay has sold out. That may be a good thing, it may be a bad thing; either way, the site should at least have the guts to admit it.

Toyota has tested a wheelchair that can be partially controlled through thought alone, with no need for body movement. It’s a way of using a new technology which drastically reduces the time it takes for a machine to read human brain waves.

A smaller travel search site has complained that the travel section of Microsoft’s Bing appears to be influenced by its own design. Kayak.com has not yet gone to court, but has sent the firm a legal letter.

The group which manages Web site addresses worldwide may end rules which allow users in some countries to register local addresses with little or no public details. The issues was discussed at an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting today, which also confirmed former U.S. cybersecurity chief Rod Beckstrom as the group’s new chief executive.

The Chinese government has imposed tight regulations to ensure accuracy on health advice sites. But particular rules for sexual health sites have raised suspicion that the move is part of wider efforts to control the Internet.

Claims by convicted Pirate Bay staff that their case was tainted by a biased judge have been rejected by a Swedish court. It means the four men will not get the retrial they requested and must instead take the case to appeal if they want to overturn their jail sentences for copyright offenses.

Facebook has launched the option to post status updates and other content to some, rather than all, of your online friends. It’s a seemingly minor change which could solve some major issues with the way people use the site.

A group set up to advise the European Union says social networking sites may need closer control by privacy regulators on the continent. It warns that third-party developers who produce applications for the site need particular scrutiny.

A press conference exchange between Barack Obama and an Iranian Internet user has prompted some to say traditional questioning from journalists could be on the way out. But the democratic possibilities of the Internet for public questioning have some serious limitations.

An interpreter’s illness has delayed a trial in Italy where four Google execs are accused of defamation and privacy violations for failing to block a video showing a disabled child being bullied. The delay means further uncertainty over the potential restrictions an unfavorable verdict could mean for all sites allowing user-created content.

A man who used spam to manipulate stock prices may spend more than seven years behind bars. Alan M. Ralsky is one of five men to plead guilty to a rare combination of spam and wire fraud charges.

Acme products are the best quality and value on the market. And they are paying me $25 to say that.

Blu-ray may have won the next-generation DVD format wars, but it’s only barely in more U.S. homes than HD-DVD and that’s thanks to the PS3. To make things worse for the DVD-player industry, three-quarters of people without Blu-ray say there’s little chance they’ll get a player any time soon.

With protests over disputed elections in Iran continuing to attract international attention, two major Web sites are aiming to help the information flow. Both Google and Facebook are making efforts to overcome the language barrier affecting some communications.