The regulator has been checking the targeted and behavioural advertising market since October 2009. It reported on Tuesday that “more could be done to provide consumers with better information about how personal information is collected and used”.

The regulator summoned the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), an online advertising body, to stiffen its voluntary code, saying remonstrations revolve around abuse of personal data and privacy issues.

The targeted and behavioural ad market will rise significantly in the future, the OFT said. The market is small, with projected profits from £64 million to £95 million, which is only a small part of the online ad market which has a worth of £3.3 billion.

Online behavioural advertising monitors web users and makes specific ads to the interest of users based on past visits on web pages.

A study found that 40% of web users who were polled don’t care about the issue, 28% did not want it, and 24% welcomed the decision. Concerns were alleviated when users could choose to avoid behavioural advertising.

The companies are legally required to inform the users about the function of the cookie file or other tracking programmes being installed in their computers, imposed by the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

OFT is willing to cooperate with the industry players and consumers while the targeted and behavioural advertising is still not widespread, “to ensure that the market grows in a way that protects consumers from bad practise”, stated Heather Clayton, senior director of the OFT.

The IAB’s regulatory principles are supported by Yahoo, Google and Microsoft.

The online privacy issue has sparked debates after Google acknowledged getting public data on its mapping project and Facebook on its online privacy settings issue.

Danielle Nagler, BBC’s head of HD, noted that at the moment, many are interested in 3D but the BBC was still cautious about what it really brings.

“We are excited about the developments of 3D but we need to see what the long term benefits of 3D to broadcasters is, before we commit”, Nagler explained. “We are not clear on what makes good 3D and are certainly not clear on what makes good 3D television. The trials we are doing are a bit like early colour – it looks interesting but there is a long way to go”.

She added that the approach of BBC was more pragmatic compared to other broadcasters, saying that 3D for them is a distraction from HD and there is still a lot of things to do to explain HD to consumers and convince them to make investments in it.

“The focus on 3D technology in that sense is not helpful”, she continued.

When asked about a 3D channel to be put up in BBC, Nagler explained that they are not planning to have one, but they will show various 3D contents for the next few years. BBC aims at delivering proper grown-up 3D that will not take short cuts or cheat.

Engadget has recently found several people checking out a commercial film from Apple, which it said showed a mother talking with her daughter through an iPhone 4G.

There have been rumours before that Apple’s new iPhone will be adding this kind of feature, although many have no idea why the company thinks it can be successful in adding a technology that only few or none is interested in.

In other news about the iPhone, the 3G version production looks set to be stopped once the 4G is launched next month, as Walmart will be cutting the price from $199 to only $97 in the US and there are also reports that the iPhone 3G will no longer be available on the market.

The ‘buy button’ for this mobile phone model has already been removed in the Apple store, and BRG hinted that stores of AT&T in the US would not be receiving any shipment of the phone – although it could only mean that certain colours and variations are only getting low of stock.

Given that the iPhone 3G was mostly outdated by the OS 4.0 update, it makes sense, especially when the Great Big Massive Clues is focusing on the new iPhone that is soon to be released.

Intel has unveiled the Ultra-Low Voltage Core processors, which are lower-voltage editions of its previous versions such as the Core i7, i5 and i3 processors that currently run Envy laptops of Hp and MacBooks.

The new ULV Core chips of Intel should extend battery life by 15% and improve the power efficiency by 15%, as well as reduce the thickness by 30%. So it is expected to see new lines of ultrathin laptops that are even thinner than the ones available on the market.

Intel also revealed that the Turbo Boost Technology and Hyper-Threading Technology of the new processors means that there won’t be any difference in performance compared to the previous processors.

The new Core chips also have HD video decoding, which means there will be no problem in video streaming on laptops or netbooks in the future.

Intel promises that the first batch of their laptops with the new processors will be on the market next month. So consumers will sure be watching out for announcements from partners of Intel – such as MSI, Lenevo, Asus, and Acer – at Computex to be held in Taipei in June.

The Associated Press was able to come up with this figure from the state-by-state breakdown of operations released by Google Inc. on Tuesday.

It is the second time within two days that the Internet giant has shared previously unknown information regarding the marketing channel, which covers a big part of the company’s revenue. For the first time on Monday, Google specified in detail the commission it gives to its ad partners as payment.

The greater transparency is beginning to surface amidst increasing legal, regulatory and political scrutiny of the power that the Internet search leader has acquired while developing the most profitable ad network of the Internet around the most popular search engine on the Web.

The breakdown on Tuesday came as part of the attempt of Google to quantify its effect in the US economy.

It also revealed that the Internet giant has at least 12,200 employees in the US, mainly in Washington, New York, and California.

The work force of Google in the US is probably larger than the report listed because the company did not specify the number of employees they have in data centres or offices in six states: Wisconsin, South Carolina, Oregon, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Iowa.

Besides Washington, New York, and California, the report of the company provides employee counts for Washington, D.C., Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Massachusetts, Illinois, Georgia, and Colorado.

It is the 10th incident this year involving workers who die falling from a building.

The deaths which are caused by suicides, has continually raised questions regarding the situation of millions of workers in China.

In Foxconn, below the minimum wage, lengthy hours of work and pressure are the common issues, labour activists said.

The founder meanwhile defused allegations that Foxconn workers are being abused and pushed to work so much that they commit suicides. He said that he is not operating “blood and sweat factories”.

Foxconn, known in Taiwan as Hon Hai Precision is the world’s biggest computer parts manufacturer.

Foxconn also makes iPhones for Apple.

Chinese news agency Xinhua says that it was not known if the most recent death which is the second in the week was a male or female worker.

It is reportedly the ninth death in Foxconn’s Shenzhen site this year. A company employee also died in Foxconn’s northern China site in January, while two others sustained critical injuries in the same incidents.

Foxconn officials was not immediately available for comments on the report.

The company has 800,000 employees worldwide with more than 300,000 workers in Shenzhen, on the border near Hong Kong.

A Foxconn employee considered to be responsible in the loss of a prototype iPhone killed himself in July when the firm held an investigation.

Psychological counselors and Buddhist monks were hired by Foxconn for its employees working in China.

Nokia will be using its Ovi Maps for the mapping application of Yahoo, tagged with ‘powered by Ovi’ underneath, as the Internet giant seeks to compete with their rival’s Google Maps.

In an equal move, Yahoo will take over Nokia’s Ovi chat and Ovi Mail between handsets, which means it will now be tagged as ‘powered by Yahoo’.

It also means that Ovi and Yahoo logins will be more unified, with a plan to make Ovi profiles easier to use on services of Yahoo.

“We’re enabling millions of Yahoo! customers in key markets including North America to discover the unique capabilities that Ovi Maps brings,” said Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

“Similarly, Yahoo!’s online expertise will bring exciting mail and messaging enhancements to millions of Ovi Mail customers across almost every country around the world, many of whom will have their first Internet experience on their mobile.”

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said: “We’re excited to expand the reach of our best-in-class Mail and Messenger services, bringing personalised experiences to more people across the mobile Web, particularly in emerging markets where we are seeding the next generation of Yahoo! users.”

Bartz added that they believe Nokia’s continued investment in navigation and maps will improve their existing products, enabling them to focus on the core of their business.

Signing a deal with DSGi to store the iPad tablet computer at PC World and Currys stores, Apple added three times the number of stores where it would be available during launch.

Apple and DSGi agreed on a 60 day preparation to market the iPad in advance.

DSGi runs 52 Apple franchises in its stores and has a lengthy relationship with the company. It is expected to outrun other rivals because of its position.

DSGi memo to sales staff indicates that the tablet pc will be available 9am in 28 Currys Shop, 70 PC World stores, 19 combined PC World/Currys stores and 22 Dixon outlets. A list of DSGi stores with stocks of the iPad will be released on its website.

Demand is expected to be high, according to the memo.

US launch of the iPad is currently selling at 200,000 a week, while it sold a million in just 28 days which caused a delay in the launch in Europe.

Apple has only 27 stores across Britain and high British demand is being anticipated. Customers, meanwhile, are still not completely informed about where the iPad could be bought.

Since the offer started in May 10, thousands have put their reservations over the Iinternet, but few will be delivered on the launch date.

Customers ordering online now will have to wait until June.

The IDC research company expects 46 million tablet computers to be delivered worldwide in 2014, while 7.6 million tablet computers were sold last year.

However, if you are one of the lucky Britain dwellers who got a Nexus, then it’s sad to say that the update will still not be available for you, as it is only for the press to try out.

Still, it means that the update of the Android is about to be launched, with Nexus One as probably the first to get it.

On earlier reports, the HTC Desire will have to wait a little longer before it gets the Android update, due to the tough process of making it compatible to the Sense overlay of the HTC. It was said that this isn’t just a simple case of getting Froyo and Sense in one hotel room together and provide some candles, romantic music and wine.

The great news is that the latest update of the Android seems to work – significantly, Improved Internet speeds and Wi-fi hot spots have been reported, meaning the Nexus One and Desire will be in higher demand now if rumours are true.

Updates for the UK release date of the Android 2.2 for other mobiles will come soon, but it will be in the next few months so all fans of Android can enjoy the delights of using Flash 10.1.

The decision of the Treasury to close the agency is said to have been planned to save £80m. A total of 240 staffs are now in danger of losing their jobs.

On its Web site Becta is described as “the government agency leading the national drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology throughout learning.”

But it is no longer able to live that description.

Becta was known before as the British Educational and Communications Technology Association, formed in 1988 to promote effective use of information and computer technology in schools.

“Naturally we are very disappointed at the government’s decision,” said Becta chairman Graham Badman of the government’s decision.

Becta chief executive Stephen Crowne added: “Becta is a very effective organisation with an international reputation, delivering valuable services to schools, colleges and children.”

“Our procurement arrangements save the schools and colleges many times more than Becta costs to run. Our Home Access programme will give laptops and broadband to over 200,000 of the poorest children.”

Crowne also said that their main priorities now are making sure they have a fair and orderly process for staffs, and if possible, children, colleges and schools continue to benefit from the support and savings that the company has provided.

Paul Wareing, a former employee of Becta, noted on Twitter: “The cost of its loss will be much more than the saving of its cost.”