Three technology heavyweights are joining a coalition to fight Google’s attempt to create what could be the world’s largest virtual library.

Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo will sign up to the Open Book Alliance being spearheaded by the Internet Archive.

They oppose a legal settlement that could make Google the main source for many online works.

“Google is trying to monopolise the library system,” the Internet Archive’s founder Brewster Kahle told BBC News.

“If this deal goes ahead, they’re making a real shot at being ‘the’ library and the only library.”

Back in 2008, the search giant reached an agreement with publishers and authors to settle two lawsuits that charged the company with copyright infringement for the unauthorised scanning of books.

(Read full article…)

A bomb attached to a lorry has exploded at the entrance to a vegetable market in Baghdad, killing two, police say.

About 20 others were injured in the bombing in the mainly Sunni Dora area of the Iraqi capital.

The latest attack follows two vast bombings on Wednesday which killed 95 people – the worst violence in Iraq for several months.

It comes as officials and MPs hold emergency talks to review the security situation as the violence continues.

After Wednesday’s attacks, the government had pledged to tighten security in the capital – increasing security at checkpoints near government buildings and setting up concrete blast barriers around potential targets.

‘No search’

But, according to an official quoted by the Associated Press, the truck passed through an Iraqi police checkpoint but was not searched before it exploded in the early hours of Friday morning.

(Read full article…)

This is what an ordered list will appear like on your site:

1. Iran tries to crack games market
2. Oracle gets go-ahead to buy Sun
3. Playing the ‘Ruse’ real-time war game
4. Pirates turn profit