Google has tweaked the formulas steering its Internet search engine to take the rubbish out of its results. The overhaul is designed to lower the rankings of what Google deems "low-quality" sites.

That could be a veiled reference to such sites as Demand Media's eHow.com, which critics call online "content farms" — that is, sites producing cheap, abundant, mostly useless content that ranks high in search results.

A New York City homeless man has been reunited with his daughter after 11 years, thanks to Twitter.

Daniel Morales was given a prepaid cell phone to create a Twitter account as part of a project on homeless people called Underheard in New York.

Google has changed its secret search formula in the United States to be more discerning when it comes to which websites are worth recommending and which should sink in the rankings.

The move announced late Thursday was part of an ongoing duel between the search titan and low-quality websites that feature only content copied from elsewhere on the Internet or use techniques to trick their way high in results.

Japan's Nintendo launched Saturday the world's first video game console with a 3-D screen that works without special glasses, a device the entertainment giant hopes will reverse its sliding fortunes.

But as the DS3 makes its debut in Japan, it will be looking for a place in an increasingly crowded gaming market.

Apple on Thursday unveiled an updated line of MacBook Pro laptop computers featuring new Intel "Thunderbolt" technology for moving digital films and other data "blazingly fast."

Apple upgraded the new-model laptops with the latest multi-core chips from Intel and high-definition "FaceTime" cameras for video chat and other uses.

Career networking site LinkedIn said Friday its service had been blocked in parts of China, after the launch of an online campaign for Middle East-style rallies that has triggered official unease.

Government censors in China have long barred access to foreign social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and in recent days have heavily censored online chat about the wave of unrest sweeping across the Arab world.

The world's first full-length marathon for two-legged robots kicked off in Japan on Thursday, with the toy-sized humanoids were due to run 42.195 kilometers (26 miles) over four days.

The machines began the non-stop race on a 100-meter (109-yard) indoor track in the western city of Osaka after doing knee bends or raising their hands to greet spectators.

Victims and survivors of the New Zealand earthquake are using the web as a virtual crisis centre, searching for missing people and even offering survivors a place to stay.

Information is flowing out from Christchurch to sites such as web giant Google's Crisis Response service where people can add or request information on individuals.

Raul Krauthausen, who has used a wheelchair since childhood, has always been uncomfortable with the services Germany provides for the physically handicapped, like special taxis and grocery delivery — saying they feel patronizing and further isolate him from the able-bodied world.

So Krauthausen took matters into his own hands and launched wheelmap.org, an iPhone application and website in German and English that allows users to share ratings and tips on how accessible shops, bars and other places are.

Cell phones are usually used to communicate with people far away. This year, they'll get the ability to do the opposite: communicate with things that are close enough to touch.

It may not sound immediately useful, but phones will get some surprising capabilities with the addition of chips for so-called Near Field Communications, a wireless technology with a range intentionally limited to just a few inches.