First contact for .tel TLD

As if there weren't enough top level domains (TLD) already - the latest, .eu was opened to the public last week - a .tel is being considered by the body that controls the Internet. ...more

Child's free Net access costs ?17,000

Tusk! Kids, eh? Thinking he'd found the deal of a lifetime, a Florida schoolboy signed up for a free internet access deal, only to be presented with a ?17,000 phone bill one month later. Coming across the promising deal while browsing the MCI WorldCom website, fourteen-year-old Ryan Johnson took it upon himself to sign his parents' name on the dotted line. Unfortunately for little Ryan, he didn't realise the company is located here in the UK, so every time he and his family logged on they were making an international call, raking up those charges. ...more

Government backing for women in IT

The Government is to give financial backing to an initiative to attract more women into IT. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, has announced ?1m of backing for the new female-friendly fund. Available for high-tech companies to draw on, it is intended to help smooth the path of women returning to work after having a family. ...more

Instant messaging for mobiles

AOL has announced that it is to develop its instant messaging technologies for Symbian OS-based mobile phones. The Symbian OS is designed for the new generation of smart phones, and is used in products including Sony Ericsson's P800 and Nokia's 9210 Communicator range. By joining Symbian's Platinum Program, AOL will have access to Symbian OS source code, enabling it to develop smart phone versions of both its instant messaging services, AIM and ICQ, and its predictive text software, T9 Text Input. ...more

Codemasters deliver the code

Codemasters has launched its new "Fan Site Toolkits" utility to help budding webmasters build their own Web sites around the games company's PC and PlayStation titles. Fans of Codemasters titles will be able to download visuals, information and other elements that have been specially designed for people to use in the development and publishing of Internet fan sites. The first toolkit, which is for online racer Insane, has already been launched. ...more