Facebook has until November 7 to bring its facial recognition software into conformity with privacy laws in Germany and the European Union or face legal action, a government lawyer told Agence France Presse Friday.

"We have had extended negotiations with Facebook and have clearly stressed our position," Johannes Caspar, a lawyer working on the case, told AFP.

News Corp's purchase of Myspace was a "huge mistake" and the social network was mismanaged "in every possible way" following the acquisition, chief executive Rupert Murdoch said Friday.

Murdoch, addressing shareholders at the media and entertainment company's annual meeting in Los Angeles, said News Corp.'s 2005 purchase of Myspace for $580 million was seen as "fantastic" at the time.

Google remains undaunted in its bid to create a flourishing online community that can go toe-to-toe with social networking powerhouse Facebook.

The California Internet titan's popular products and services will increasingly be woven into its nascent but fast-growing Google+ social network to make joining irresistible, executives said Thursday.

Sony Corporation senior executive Kazuo Hirai said Friday the Japanese company wants to work more closely with its Swedish joint venture partner Ericsson on Smartphone products.

But Sony's executive deputy president refused to comment on reports the Japanese giant is planning to buy out Ericsson's half of their 50-50 Sony Ericsson venture.

Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui launched on Thursday the internet 3G service which will cover Beirut and its suburbs.

"Our target is to move ten years forward in internet speed and we hope that the technical difficulties will be fixed in the coming weeks,” he said during a press conference at the American University of Science and Technology.

From robotic hand-clapping arms to a device that could show tsunami alerts in the sky, Japanese technology researchers showcased their latest inventions in Tokyo Thursday.

Two pairs of artificial arms welcomed visitors as the Digital Content Expo opened for a three-day run, producing a realistic clapping sound due to the soft palms of the hands.

Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma said Thursday he expects an answer from Yahoo! within weeks to his long-standing offer to buy all or part of the U.S. Internet giant, saying delays were hurting both firms.

The Chinese entrepreneur denied reports he had a $20 billion war chest ready for Yahoo!, but added that money was not the biggest obstacle to what would be a stunning takeover of a U.S. tech major by a Chinese firm.

Startup Lytro unveiled a camera that lets people adjust the focus on photos after they take them.

Work that Ren Ng started in a lab while working on a PhD at Stanford University about eight years ago has led to the creation of what is billed as the first camera that captures the entire light field in a scene.

Online auction and financial transactions powerhouse eBay said Wednesday that profit in the recently ended quarter climbed as commerce shifts to smartphones and tablet computers.

The Silicon Valley company reported that its net income in the quarter ending September 30 rose to $490.5 million as revenue leapt 32 percent to $3 billion.

Microsoft said Thursday that Nokia is going to launch phones using Windows' new mobile operating system next week, giving a major boost to the US firm's come-from-behind phone software business.

Windows Phone division chief Andy Lees said the Nokia devices were a huge development for Microsoft as it struggles to capture a piece of the market for mobile operating systems already dominated by Apple, Google and BlackBerry.