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Google Pays Tribute to Origami Pioneer

Google paid tribute on Wednesday to the "father of the modern origami" Akira Yoshizawa by transforming its celebrated homepage logo into a homage to the folded-paper art pioneer.

To mark what would have been Yoshizawa's 101st birthday, the letters in Google's name are formed by folded paper shapes created by origami artist Robert Lang.

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Google Links Up with Belgian 'Paper Internet'

Google linked up Tuesday with Belgian museum, the Mundaneum, which was set up as a 19th-century paper equivalent of the U.S. Internet search giant.

"We want to honor and promote the important European pioneers of computing and the Internet," said Google Belgium's chief Thierry Geerts. "For Google, this mission sounds eerily and pleasantly familiar."

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Rdio Revamps Internet Music Service

Internet music service Rdio.com on Tuesday unveiled a redesign intended to make it "faster, simpler and more social" as it battles with rivals such as Pandora and Spotify.

Rdio also announced that its music catalogue has grown to more than 15 million songs.

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PayPal Fattens Digital Wallet

PayPal on Tuesday pulled out a revamped digital wallet service amid rumors it is poised to introduce a plug-in gizmo that will let small businesses accept credit card payments using smartphones.

PayPal digital "wallet" improvements to begin rolling out in May include the ability to make purchases at stores but decide days later which credit or debit cards will be used to pay.

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Encyclopaedia Britannica Ends Print Publications

The Encyclopedia Britannica will end print publication after 244 years and go "completely digital," the Chicago-based company said.

"The end of the print set is something we've foreseen for some time," Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopedia Britannica, said in a statement.

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IPhone Hit Instagram Heads to Android Smartphones

The makers of an Instagram photo-sharing application wildly popular on Apple gadgets are tailoring a version for smartphones powered by Android software.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom provided a glimpse of the Android "app" to technology trend-setters at a South By Southwest Interactive conference that wraps up on Tuesday in the Texas capitol of Austin.

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Twitter Buys Mobile Blogging Startup Posterous

Twitter on Monday announced that it has bought mobile blogging startup Posterous and will put engineers behind the popular "lifestreaming" service to work on special projects.

"This team has built an innovative product that makes sharing across the Web and mobile devices simple -- a goal we share," San Francisco-based Twitter said in a blog post.

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Hackers Violate User Privacy at Porn Website

Online porn venue Digital Playground was recovering on Monday after hackers looted credit card numbers, email addresses and other sensitive member information.

The members' area at digitalplayground.com was available after being out for several days but a message at the website said it was not taking new sign-ups for the time being.

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Yahoo! Accuses Facebook of Patent Infringement

Yahoo! filed suit against Facebook in a California court on Monday accusing the social networking giant of infringing on 10 patents held by the Internet pioneer.

Yahoo!, in a 19-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accused Facebook of infringing on patents in several areas including advertising, privacy and messaging.

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Sri Lanka Slaps Censorship on Text Messages

Sri Lanka has imposed censorship on security-related mobile phone messages despite the withdrawal last year of tough emergency laws following the end of its separatist war with Tamil rebels.

The defense ministry's Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) in a directive to media organizations said they must get prior approval to publish SMS news alerts "related to national security and security forces."

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