Amazon said Thursday its 22-million song music catalog was now "optimized" for users of Apple devices, making it easier for iPhone owners to circumvent the iTunes store.

The move is part of a new initiative by the Internet retail giant challenging Apple's dominance of the digital music market.

Journalists and concerned citizens can now trawl for conflicts of interest among Chile's political and business elites thanks to a new startup based on Wikipedia.

Launched late last year, "Poderopedia" (Spanish for Power-opedia), aims to encourage greater transparency by shining a light on the complex network of political and business connections in the country.

Hackers claimed a cyber attack on the Mexican defense ministry website on Wednesday, posting a manifesto from the Zapatista rebel group for two hours.

The name of the group "Anonymous Mexico" was visible on the website in front of a black background, with phrases from the manifesto of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN).

Shares in struggling Japanese electronics maker Sharp shot up 7.30 percent on Thursday on reports it is in talks with Chinese computer giant Lenovo Group to work together on the production of televisions.

In the possible tie-up, the troubled firm is expected to sell all shares in a Chinese subsidiary operating an LCD TV assembly plant in Nanjing to Lenovo by the year-end, the Nikkei daily and Jiji Press said.

A new shooting game for mobile devices by the powerful National Rifle Association is no longer being labeled suitable for preschoolers. The move came amid pushback from liberal organizations that called the game tasteless and criticized the timing of its release one month after a horrific elementary school shooting.

"NRA: Practice Range" changed its age recommendation on Tuesday from 4 years and up to at least 12 years of age with an added warning that the game depicts "intense" and "realistic" violence.

The first undersea fibre-optic cable between China and Taiwan is set to begin operating this week, official media reported Wednesday, the latest sign of closer links between the Cold War rivals.

Yang Yi, spokesman for Beijing's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the cable would enhance communications and was "good news" for the two sides, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Britain's Guardian newspaper will launch a new online edition in Australia, where the print media is struggling with the rapidly changing digital landscape, hoping also to expand its reach in Asia.

The Guardian announced the expansion of its global reach on Tuesday, saying deputy editor Katharine Viner would be relocating Down Under to launch the Australian operation some time this year.

From navigation systems serving as game consoles to sound systems doubling as amplifiers and nail polish matching a paint job, automakers are trying new tricks to lure fickle young buyers.

Connected consoles that sync with smartphones to stream music and even read incoming text messages aloud seemed to be almost standard features on most of the cars on display at the Detroit auto show.

Facebook on Tuesday launched a search engine for shared content described as a way to find things liked by friends on the huge social network.

"We look at Facebook as a big social database," chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in announcing the so-called "graph search" function. "Just like any database, you should be able to query it."

Kaspersky Lab said Monday it had identified a new computer virus it dubbed "Red October" targeting eastern European countries that appeared to be collecting classified files using NATO and EU encryption.

"The primary focus of this campaign targets countries in Eastern Europe, former USSR Republics, and countries in Central Asia, although victims can be found everywhere, including Western Europe and North America," said the maker of anti-virus software in a statement.