Heralding that the discovery could change the battery sector for ever, the report published in Nature Materials added that one huge advantage would be that the nanotube devices would not lose power if they were left for long periods of time, unlike that of traditional batteries which can leak. Coating the outside of cylinders only a billionth of a metre in length with cyclotrimethylene trinitramine, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Michael Strano explained “One property that nanotubes have is that they conduct heat very, very well along their length, up to a hundred times faster than in metals. We asked what would happen if you perform a chemical reaction near one of these, and the first thing we found is the nanotube will guide the reaction, accelerating it up to 10,000 times.”

The new batteries, which would only take a small touch to initiate the chemical reaction, are also far more environmentally friendly than their traditional counterparts, not needing toxic and non-renewable materials to be made. Dr Strano explained that though currently the battery is only for one time use, the technology could be put to greater use.  “I’m interested in the fuel cell concept. The conventional fuel cell has been around since the 1800s but corrosive fuels, catalytic deactivation and complexity have been a hurdle,” he said. “From an engineering standpoint, thermopower waves could be a very simple alternative. What we’ve discovered is more than just a replacement for batteries. To our knowledge, it’s a new scientific area for research. There are many, many questions about these waves: what their limits are what the applications might be.”

Creating almost 900 jobs including some 100 high-tech posts, the construction of Skynet 5D will occur in Stevenage and Portsmouth to be ready for a 2013 launch. Run by Paradigm Secure Communications, the Ministry of Defence contracts the systems, resulting in a Private Finance Initiative that is one of the most expensive ever signed by the MoD. Talking of his pleasure that the scheme had been extended Malcolm Peto, Paradigm’s chairman said “The decision to go for a new satellite is an absolute vindication of the approach that made Skynet 5 a service contract. It gives the MoD an assurance that the extra bandwidth will be there to meet their needs, and it gives us the ability to sell more capacity to third parties.”

Valued at £400m, the new extension will also incorporate spare parts for the future roll out of further Skynets 5A, B and C. Allowing forces to share data quickly back and forth between command centre’s, the new satellite will provide up to two and half times quicker speeds and allows UK forces to utilise the latest military weapons including Reaper drones, aerial units which can be remotely piloted.

Playfish is one of the most well known social networking gaming entities, attracting over 61 million consumers to its 11 million games every year. Co-founder Sebastien de Halleux explained “The last two years social gaming has been living in its own bubble. This year that changes. The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is going to mark the beginning of something very exciting in the games industry and that is the birth of the social game industry as a mainstream industry. We are talking about an audience of hundreds of millions of users for social games and that is why there is a lot of excitement.”

And the GDC means business, creating a two day summit on the emergence of online and social games and their possible future. Global brand director for the GDC Simon Carless said “This definitely shows the importance of the social and online gaming space as one of the few areas of our industry to have grown so fast.” Consisting of 37 talks looking at virtual sales and techniques in developing interacting stories, to delivering games through the cloud system, the GDC is running from March 9th to March 13th.

Boosted by the recent Oscar success of Avatar, and with a number of upcoming movies planned to be in 3D, the phenomenon is spreading with both LG and Samsung already offering sets in the U.S with plans to reach Europe in coming months. Meanwhile Panasonic’s 3D set is due to hit U.S shelves later this week. Like all other versions, Sony’s latest effort comes with two pairs of 3D glasses needed for viewing 3D material.

However, whilst the electronics industry is keen to see the move into 3D take off, some experts are cynical that consumers will pay the high prices for devices, especially due to the current financial problems. Gartner researcher Fernando Elizalde explained “I’m not very optimistic about 3D TV as it is today, I see more negatives than positives. The biggest barriers to growth in 3D TV are the lack of content, the inconvenience of wearing glasses and that millions of consumers have only just upgraded to high-definition sets. Sony has one advantage: it has arms that make TV sets, produce content and make filming equipment.”

Meanwhile Sony ignored fears to set high growth targets. Wanting to sell approximately 25 million LCD televisions in the next financial year, the company hopes that at least 10per cent will be 3D sets with an increase being seen in the period before Japan turns off its analogue TV signal in 2011.

As Iranian users of social networking sites highlighted the services uses after they managed to organise protests last year, a spokesperson from the Treasury explained that the move was to “ensure that individuals in these countries can exercise their universal right to free speech and information to the greatest extent possible.” Neal Wolin, deputy secretary added “As recent events in Iran have shown, personal internet-based communications like e-mail, instant messaging and social networking are powerful tools.”

The way is now clear for firms to export web based services to the three nations, in addition to communications software exportation to both Sudan and Iran. Meanwhile, the commerce department governs Cuba, not allowing the Treasury to make sufficient steps to allow free exportation. And whilst, especially in Cuba, the move shouldn’t make a large difference due to the countries small web usage, it may be down to the Iranian and Sudanese governments to decide whether to follow America’s lead and let the sanctions fall.

Playing their first 3D football match in February, that of Manchester United v Arsenal, Sky hope that a range of footage including tennis, rugby, ballet and London fashion week will encourage consumers to purchase 3D compatible TVs in anticipation of Sky’s new subscription channel. Talking of their hopes for the future scheme, a spokesperson revealed “Sky’s existing Sky+HD boxes, which are in 2.1 million UK and Irish homes, are already equipped to receive Sky 3D, so these people will only need to upgrade their TV set. New 3D Ready TVs will be introduced over the coming months and later this year, as they begin to reach people’s living rooms Sky 3D will launch with a range of movies, sport, documentaries, entertainment and arts content. Every visitor to the stand will have the opportunity to register to win a competition to be one of the first people in the UK kitted out with a 3D TV, Sky+HD box and subscription to Sky’s top channel and HD packs, ready for when the service launches.”

It is one of the ongoing contentions in the gaming world that not all titles are available on all platforms. However, Microsoft is looking to change this, at least for their own various platforms, by developing titles which could be played on their Xbox 360, their mobile phone platform, or by the traditional PC. Speaking at the Middle East based TechEd, Eric Rudder from Microsoft demonstrated the concept with a Visual Studio developed game. Using a gamepad on the Xbox 360, touch controls on the Window Phone 7 Series platform and a keyboard on a PC the game shares up to 90per cent of its codes across variations.

The latest announcement shows a clear strategy for Microsoft in the direction that they wish to see their gaming develop. And whilst currently undergoing dramatic developing, a process which Microsoft hopes will encourage third party developers to add fuel to the fire, the ability to play a game on any platform, switching devices as the game progresses, is very attractive to not only the hardcore gamer.

The International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) secretary-general Dr Hamadoun Toure explained “The right to communicate cannot be ignored. The internet is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created.” He added that officials should “regard the internet as basic infrastructure – just like roads, waste and water. We have entered the knowledge society and everyone must have access to participate.”

The news comes as the British government aim to bring the controversial Digital Economy Bill into effect, legislation which could in fact restrict some individuals’ internet access. Promising to provide broadband for every UK resident by 2010, the proposals also lay out plans for a “three strikes rule” for those that break internet laws and participate in illegal filesharing. It also comes on the back of new EU regulations which state any government interventions on internet access “must respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.”

Meanwhile the results from the survey showed that over 70per cent of individuals who didn’t have internet access believed it was their right to have access. Elsewhere 96per cent of South Koreans in the poll said net access was a human right, a figure backed up by 90per cent of individuals in Turkey.

Many users of Xbox Live are largely accustomed to the insults which are often thrown around in chat as slang and are not often directed at individuals. However, with members of the LGBT community still being at the receiving end of, albeit indirect abuse, Microsoft have made a vital step forward in reducing homophobia on their network.

Writing on their official blog, general manager of Xbox Live Marc Whitten said “Under our previous policy, some of these expressions of self-identification were not allowed in Gamertags or profiles to prevent the use of these terms as insults or slurs. However we have since heard feedback from our customers that while the spirit of this approach was genuine, it inadvertently excluded a part of our Xbox LIVE community. This update also comes hand-in-hand with increased stringency and enforcement to prevent the misuse of these terms. Other terms regarding relationship orientation are not allowed. In addition you may not use these terms or any other terms regarding relationship orientation to insult, harass, or any other pejorative use against other users. I truly believe that our diversity is what makes us strong: diversity in gaming and entertainment options, and diversity in the people that make up this amazing community. I look forward to seeing you on LIVE soon.”

Microsoft’s browser choices came about after the Competition Commission in the EU revealed that the PC maker promoted its own browser, Internet Explorer, too much over other company’s software. Having to now integrate the choices menu on all new machines, and providing it to current consumers by way of an automatic update, Microsoft have now come under further fire from developers who believe their browsers are not as promoted as others.

Signing a petition, Flock, Avant, Slim, Maxthon, Green and Sleipnir expressed “The final choice screen design leaves the vast majority of users unaware that there are more than five browsers to choose from. We are only requesting the simple addition of any text or design element, that would indicate to an average user that there are choices ‘to the right of the visible screen’.”

Early results of the system have intimated that an increasing number of individuals are switching their browsers, with Opera expressing that almost three times the number of downloads had been noted since the choices menu began rolling out. Meanwhile the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS) expressed that it wanted “competition agencies around the world to give their consumers the benefit of browser choice, which will spur competition and improve the Web experience for all.”