The blue-hulled vessel would slip by unnoticed on most seas if not for the white kite, high above her prow, towing her to what its creators hope will be a bright, wind-efficient future.

The enormous kite, which looks like a paraglider, works in tandem with the ship's engines, cutting back on fuel consumption, costs, and carbon footprint.

New Zealand passed a law against online piracy Thursday which outlaws file-sharing and threatens repeat offenders with having their Internet access cut off.

The new law allows for penalties of up to NZ$15,000 ($12,000) to be paid to the copyright owner and if this is ineffective offenders can have their Internet account suspended for up to six months.

A handful of Greenpeace activists was outside Facebook headquarters on Wednesday, calling on the social network to "unfriend" coal energy for powering data centers and other operations.

Members of the international environmental group set up a large computer screen to display comments streaming in from around the world in response to a Facebook post urging the firm to join an energy revolution.

The head of Google's search evaluation team shakes his head dismissively at the idea of anyone thinking the firm's winning Internet-sifting formula is completed.

Far from it.

IBM is testing smartphone software designed to predict traffic jams and warn motorists before they even take to the roads.

IBM said late Tuesday that its employees in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley areas of Northern California have been testing technology that "will ultimately help drivers around the world" avoid fouled traffic.

Nokia Corp. on Tuesday launched its first smartphones to run on the updated Symbian software with new icons, enhancements and a faster browser.

Nokia said the two models — the E6 and X7 — have longer battery life, better text input and new Ovi Maps applications with improved search and public transport routes.

Kindergarten classes are supplementing crayons, finger paints and flashcards with iPads, a development that excites supporters but that detractors worry is wasted on pupils too young to appreciate the expense.

Next fall, nearly 300 kindergartners in the central Maine city of Auburn will become the latest batch of youngsters around the country to get iPad2 touchpad tablets to learn the basics about ABCs, 1-2-3s, drawing and even music.

U.S. online retail powerhouse Amazon on Monday introduced a cut-price version of its Kindle electronic reader that features on-screen ads.

Kindle with Special Offers e-readers priced at $114 each will begin shipping in the United States on May 3, according to Amazon.

PushLife, a Toronto-based mobile music service, announced Monday that it has been acquired by Internet giant Google.

Details of the transaction were not released but the technology blog StartupNorth put the purchase price at $25 million.

Michael Jackson fans will get to show off how well they sing and dance like the King of Pop in video games crafted by Ubisoft for play on Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) consoles.

The French video game titan on Tuesday will release versions of "Michael Jackson: The Experience" that tap into motion and voice sensing capabilities of popular Kinect and Move accessories for the Xbox 360 and PS3 respectively.