A Norwegian man who purchased $24 worth of bitcoins and then promptly forgot about it for four years, was able to buy an apartment in central Oslo thanks to the massive appreciation of the virtual currency.

In 2009, Kristoffer Koch was doing research on encryption and on a whim decided to invest a small sum in the recently created bitcoins -- a means of payment over the Internet.

China's economy would be at least 3.7 trillion yuan ($610 billion) bigger than Beijing thinks if the country's local government statistics were to be believed, state media reported Wednesday.

The Economic Information Daily tallied up gross domestic product (GDP) data from 28 of mainland China's 31 provincial-level authorities, totaling 42.4 trillion yuan for the first nine months of the year.

Don't wear high heels while driving. Make sure you release the handbrake before setting off. And don't panic if you suddenly realize you're going the wrong way.

Those are some of the suggestions given by the Beijing police department to women drivers in a series of microblog postings that have sparked a backlash among Chinese Internet users who say the tips are sexually discriminatory.

Austrian police are seeking witnesses to an unusual theft — of huge amounts of grass, mowed secretly from a farmer's field.

A police statement says the theft occurred around Liebenfels, a village about 200 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Vienna. It says a farmer reported his field mowed and the grass gone on Monday.

Troops often call plastic surgeon Adam Tattelbaum in a panic. They need liposuction — fast.

Some military personnel are turning to the surgical procedure to remove excess fat from their waists in a desperate attempt to pass the Pentagon's body fat test, which relies on measurements of the neck and waist and can determine their future prospects in the military.

Winter in Europe wouldn't be winter without a bit of skiing, and this year Switzerland has its sights set on attracting a whole new group of amateur skiers to its slopes -- the Chinese.

Swiss Tourism said Monday it had invited eight Chinese delegates to spend four months zipping down the pistes of its most famous ski stations including Gstaad, St Moritz and Verbier in a bid to tap into the potentially lucrative market.

Two men filed a complaint with the state of Illinois against a Chicago taxicab company Monday, alleging one of the company's drivers ejected them from a cab after they kissed.

Steven White of West Hollywood, California, and Matthew McCrea of Chicago say they kissed during a ride in May from O'Hare International Airport to McCrea's home. They claim the driver for Sun Taxi turned the interior lights on and off, telling his passengers, "This is public transportation." The driver initially pulled over on an expressway but then drove to a grocery store parking lot and ordered them out, they said.

Indonesia's capital is getting rid of the monkey business.

Security forces are conducting raids to rescue macaques used in masked monkey performances on Jakarta's streets.

At a tiny bar in Paris's Montmartre district, chef Elie Daviron is happy to admit his new menu has disgusted some clients while others need two or three drinks before they can face it.

Amid the guacamole, chicken tikka and chili hotdogs, the young chef is conducting a "gastronomical experiment" with what he calls a selection of "insect tapas".

Residents of a remote village nestled in a steep-sided valley in southern Norway are about to enjoy winter sunlight for the first time ever thanks to giant mirrors.

The mountains that surround the village of Rjukan are far from Himalayan, but they are high enough to deprive its 3,500 inhabitants of direct sunlight for six months a year.