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SKorea's LG Touts Optimus 3D Smartphone for Gaming

LG Electronics is touting 3D smartphones as an alternative to dedicated handheld game devices.

The company launched its LG Optimus 3D phone Thursday in South Korea after beginning a global release last month covering more than 60 markets including Spain and Britain.

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Facebook Launches Video Calls, Group Chat Features

Quick on the heels of Google's launch of its latest social-networking venture, Facebook said Wednesday that its 750 million users will now be able to make video calls on the site.

The feature will be powered by the Internet phone service Skype. Facebook also redesigned its chat feature, so that the people a user messages the most often show up first.

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Nokia Abandons Japan Market

Nokia Corp., battered by the popularity of smartphones, is abandoning the Japanese market, after a brief foray with luxury cell phones costing as much as 20 million yen ($250,000).

The Finnish handset maker is closing by the end of July its last store selling high-end Vertu cell phones in Ginza. Previously, it had three such stores in Japan, although when the decision to leave Japan was made or how many Vertu phones Nokia had sold in Japan have not been disclosed.

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With Vettel Dominant, F1 Becoming Battle for 2nd

Even with half the season to go, the Formula One championship already appears to be a battle for second place as hopes of catching Sebastian Vettel are fading fast.

The defending champion goes into Sunday's British Grand Prix with a commanding 77-point lead, having won six of the eight races and been runner-up in the other two.

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Restaurant Puts Virtual Food Onto Diners' Plates

Want a virtual bite of what you'll eat before ordering from the menu?

An Asian-themed restaurant in London's theater district is giving its customers just that, projecting images of dragon rolls, black cod, and other dishes directly onto diners' plates.

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Iconic Computer Game 'Civilization' Joins Facebook

Long before "FarmVille" there was "Civilization," the iconic computer game in which players build a civilized world over thousands of years. Now, the game's designer, Sid Meier, is bringing his creation to Facebook.

Available Wednesday, "Civ World" is a lighter, social version of the classic PC strategy game, which launched in 1991 and migrated to video game consoles in 2008. In the Facebook adaptation, players cooperate to build cities and engage in diplomacy, scientific discovery and economics as they advance civilization throughout the ages.

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Lebanese-U.S. Man Accused of Seeking to Set Bomb in Israel on Behalf of Hizbullah

A Lebanese-born U.S. man on the FBI's most wanted list of terror suspects is accused of using a fake passport in an attempt to get into Israel and conduct a bombing on behalf of Hizbullah, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Detroit.

Faouzi Ayoub, 44, faces one count of passport fraud, according to the August 2009 indictment that was only unsealed in U.S. District Court in Detroit within the past week.

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South Korean Sex Workers Fight to Protect Brothels

The pimps and prostitutes of Yeongdeungpo start the day as if preparing for a siege, stocking their brothels with flammable liquid and gas containers. Large, red-lettered signs warn police that they're willing to die to protect their livelihoods.

"We can turn on the gas and light the flames," said a 47-year-old pimp who would only give her surname Sohn. "We know that we don't have much chance of winning ... but we're ready to die fighting."

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Picasso Drawing Stolen From SF Gallery

Police are on the hunt for a man who walked into a San Francisco art gallery, grabbed a valuable pencil drawing by Pablo Picasso off the wall and then fled in a waiting taxicab.

Police on Tuesday said the drawing, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, was taken from the Weinstein Gallery near Union Square.

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Berlin Fashion Week Kicks Off

Berlin's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is opening its catwalk outside the city's landmark Brandenburg Gate with more than 50 shows presenting spring/summer collections for 2012.

The Berlin event, which runs from Wednesday through to Saturday, is seen as a show where young designers who often struggle to get noticed in New York, Milan or Paris can highlight their clothes.

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