Searches at Microsoft's Windows Live Search site dropped again in November from a year ago while Google's continued to rise, according to Nielsen Online figures released on Monday.

World of Warcraft, the online game, is under attack for causing students to drop out. The game, in which you create your own character - an orc, a troll, a dwarf or a human - and join others to defeat enemies in the mythical land of Azeroth, is topping sales charts in the US, but its makers are receiving publicity they could do without, thanks to Deborah Taylor Tate at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Tate says: "You might find it alarming that one of the top reasons for college drop-outs in the US is online gaming addiction - such as World of Warcraft - which is played by 11 million individuals worldwide," she said in a speech.

China's government has accused the country's leading internet search engines and web portals, including Google, of threatening public morals by carrying pornographic and vulgar content.

It's been a long time coming, but former eBay chief Meg Whitman now appears to be preparing to run for the post of governor of California.