Microsoft began Thursday letting U.S. shoppers at its online Windows Store pay with digital currency Bitcoin.

Bitcoin, traded in at market value through a partnership with payment processor BitPay, could be used to add money to Microsoft accounts that provide funds for buying games, music, video or applications for Xbox consoles or computers powered by the U.S. technology titan's Windows operating systems.

Japanese gaming giant Sony is to offer its PlayStation consoles in China from January, the company said, following rival Microsoft into the potentially lucrative market after China ended a 14-year ban.

The company will launch the PlayStation 4, the latest in its series, in China on January 11, priced at 2,899 yuan ($475), Sony said in a release, adding pre-sales started Friday.

Sensors that track steps, pulse, diet and more marked a wearable computing fashion trend this year as they evolve from measuring what we've done to telling us what to do.

Smart bracelets, watches, and pendants increasingly adorned the techno-chic, and for some even their dogs sported medallions tracking whether they nap too much and run too little.

Google said Wednesday it will shut down Google News in Spain because of a new law that will force it to pay news outlets whose content it publishes, partially or in whole.

Google News will close in Spain on December 16 because of the law, which takes effect in January.

The computer scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web says affordable access to the Internet should be recognized as a human right, as a report showed that billions of people still cannot go online and government surveillance and censorship are increasing.

Tim Berners-Lee said Thursday the Internet can help tackle inequality — but only if it comes with the rights to privacy and freedom of expression. The Briton, who launched the Web in 1990, made the remarks as he released his World Wide Web Foundation's latest report tracking the Internet's global impact.

Amazon said Tuesday it would allow online haggling between buyers and sellers for some items sold by third parties using the U.S. online retail giant.

The "make an offer" system to be implemented initially for some 150,000 items could allow Amazon to compete with retail rival eBay, but would not be an auction format.

Football's World Cup and the Ebola outbreak topped the list of topics most shared by Facebook users around the globe in 2014, the social networking giant said Tuesday.

The World Cup was the most shared item globally, followed by the Ebola crisis, Brazilian elections, the death of actor Robin Williams and the "Ice Bucket Challenge" to raise funds for research on Lou Gehrig's disease.

Australia's government Wednesday outlined plans to tackle online piracy as it moves to end the country's position as one of the world's top illegal downloaders of television shows such as "Game of Thrones".

Copyright holders will be able to apply for court orders requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to websites outside the country that give access to infringing content, according to the proposed amendments to the Copyright Act.

A series of spectacular cyberattacks drew headlines this year, and the situation will only worsen in 2015 as hackers use more advanced techniques to infiltrate networks, security researchers said Tuesday.

McAfee Labs' 2015 Threats Predictions report sees increased cyber-warfare and espionage, along with new strategies from hackers to hide their tracks and steal sensitive data.

Facebook said Monday it is rolling out upgraded search capabilities for mobile and desktop users who want to find favorite posts from their friends on the huge social network.

"You've told us the most important thing is being able to find posts you've seen before, and now you can," said Facebook vice president Tom Stocky in a blog post.