Here is a pretty comprehensive and well-researched infographic which looks into the effect the internet has on our environment. It makes the startling claim that "one search engine query can equate to driving your car three inches". The working world can also affect our environment, simply by working from home for two days a week can save the world a great deal of energy.Credit.

US online payment service Paypal has agreed to help set up an international e-commerce hub in southwestern China as more foreign companies cash in on the country's fast-growing Internet market.Paypal and the government of Chongqing have signed a deal to jointly develop a foreign exchange settlement platform in the mega-city to enable users to pay for cross-border online shopping transactions, they said in a joint statement.They also agreed to set up five international e-commerce centres over the next few months ...

The world's biggest online market just got bigger. There are now 450-million Chinese internet users, which is just over a third of the country's 1,3-billion-strong population, claims the country's government.This is added to the country's rapidly growing mobile internet user base. The China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC) reported last year that there were at least 277 million mobile Web users in China, up 43 million in six months. This figure is likely to have now surpassed the 300-million mark. ...

While other officials took heat for their lame response to paralysing US blizzards, Newark's mayor ingeniously used Twitter and earnt himself political kudos for helping dig out those in need."I need street names and patience," Cory Booker told one worried tweeter as up to 80 centimeters (32 inches) of snow trapped many New Jersey residents in their homes.An avalanche of responses followed, many of which Booker answered with personal house calls, shovel in hand. His Twitter account, @CoryBooker, reads like ...

Culture defines an era and the internet is our time’s Rosetta Blog. While the cultural touchstones might be ephemeral and fleeting, we have to realise and appreciate the journey that brought us here. An insignificant event or idea can gradually evolve into a complicated and awesome product that needs to be recognised. We need to embrace the year for what it has given us and Memeburn is proud to bring you (in no particular order) the Best Memes ...

Internet sensation Groupon, which specialises in dishing out local bargains, says it has raised $500-million, just weeks after rejecting a multi-billion-dollar takeover bid by Google.The mega-financing, revealed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was part of a funding round launched on December 17 that could fetch up to $950-million dollars.Google was believed to have offered more than five billion dollars to buy up the online discount shopping site early this month, but Groupon decided to remain independent.The Chicago-based startup ...

Reporters Without Borders has issued a joint call with rights groups for Egypt's president to intervene after an Internet user was sentenced to jail for starting a Facebook group for army recruits.President Hosni Mubarak was asked to "intercede in the case of Ahmed Hassan Bassyouni, a young man who was sentenced to six months in prison by a military court" on November 29, it said in an statement received in Cairo.The sentence was handed down to Bassyouni "just for encouraging ...

China wants to restrict Internet phone services -- a move that could affect thousands of businesses and individuals making cheap calls via web-based communications companies such as Skype."We are carrying out with relevant authorities a campaign to crack down on illegal Voice over Internet Protocol phone services", the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a circular posted online earlier this month.In the brief notice, which did not offer details on the crackdown or a timetable for shutting down ...

Skype has finally launched a new application for the iPhone, iPod and iPad allowing video calls via its popular service.The latest version of Skype, available in the Apple App Store, takes advantage of the latest iPhones and iPod music players being equipped with front-facing cameras to offer the video calls.Skype is a popular voice-over-IP application, allowing computer users to bypass telecommunications companies by routing calls through the Internet.While previous versions of Skype allowed some mobile phone users to make voice ...

At times the technology stories of 2010 read like the pages of gossip magazines. Ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd’s sex scandal -- slander or truth? The Social Network’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg as the evil genius archetype --accurate or simply Hollywood sensationalism? As Julian Assange and Wikileaks became water-cooler conversation and the world watched the story unfold like a soap opera, everyone had an opinion.It’s been an incredible year in the tech sector, and as it draws to a close it's ...