TechWeb - IBM is expanding the server's capabilities by allowing it to process XML documents and their attachments, such as graphic files, that are traveling in a SOAP packet.

AP - A parliamentary commission approved a proposal Thursday allowing Turkey to block Web sites that are deemed insulting to the founder of modern Turkey, weeks after a Turkish court temporarily barred access to YouTube.

Reuters - Two more clips mocking Thailand's revered monarch appeared on YouTube on Friday, a day after the withdrawal of another that had prompted the army-backed government to block the entire video-sharing Web site.

TechWeb - Mozilla warns the animated cursor handling bug that's plagued Microsoft's Internet Explorer could cause trouble for Firefox users as well.

AP - China has extended criminal penalties for music and movie piracy to people caught with smaller amounts of DVDs or CDs, a state news agency said Friday, after foreign complaints that enforcement was too lenient.

Reuters - Video-sharing Web site YouTube will help Thailand block access to pages that contain clips offensive to its revered monarch instead of blacking out the whole site, a cabinet minister said on Friday.

PC Magazine - Apple's Macs can run dual OSs, making them an interesting choice in enterprise environments.

AFP - Agence France-Presse and Google signed a licensing agreement Friday giving the search engine the right to post AFP news and photos and settling a lawsuit filed by AFP two years ago.

InfoWorld - Google has commented on a new software tool it released in China this week, although it did not address allegations that the software bears more than a passing resemblance to a rival's product.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In the battle over next generation DVDs, pornography could prove to be the XXX factor that helps determine a winner.

AP - Agence France-Presse, a global news agency based in Paris, said Friday it has reached an agreement with Google Inc. that will allow the Internet search leader to post news and photos from AFP.

AP - Brendan Burke's cell phone was beeping within minutes of the start of his wife's marathon in San Diego. A text message arrived with her latest time as she crossed the six timing mats around the course.

NewsFactor - Amid news of Sony slashing its PlayStation Portable price this week, HP unveiled technology that could make way for a new handheld to compete with the PSP and the Nintendo DS.

NewsFactor - Researchers at security firm Kaspersky Lab have developed a virus that can infect Apple's popular portable media player, the iPod. But users do not have to scramble for protection just yet. The virus would only affect players that run Linux instead of the iPod's native operating system.

AP - Some of the U.S. marathons that offer instant alerts or online tracking systems for runners and spectators:

InfoWorld - Representatives of large broadband and wireless carriers have voiced opposition to a proposal from consumer groups that would impose open access and net neutrality conditions on a spectrum auction next year.

NewsFactor - With part of their 2001 cross-licensing patent agreement due to expire on Monday, Nokia and Qualcomm are fighting over which company owes what. Analysts say that the struggle could impact several cell phone markets.

InfoWorld - Following digital music pioneer Apple's lead yet again, Microsoft said this week it will soon sell digital music online without DRM (digital rights management) protection.

InfoWorld - Researchers at Harvard University and BBN Technologies have designed a wireless network capable of reporting real-time sensor data across an entire city, they said Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc.'s AOL division will introduce a paid search service on Monday backed by Google Inc.'s technology to help advertisers better target AOL users.

NewsFactor - Acer computers, following a sales increase of 45.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, vaulted past Toshiba to become the third-place seller of notebook PCs worldwide, according to a report released Thursday by market researcher iSuppli.

AP - Internet phone company Vonage Holdings Corp. will be barred from signing up new customers as punishment for infringing on patents held by Verizon Communications Inc., under an injunction ordered Friday.

AP - Malaysian online political commentators have formed a group to protect bloggers' interests after two of them were sued by a newspaper with close government ties.

InfoWorld - The Web site for computer parts manufacturer ASUStek Computer has been hacked and has been serving up attack code that exploited a critical Windows vulnerability, patched earlier this week.

NewsFactor - Software engineer Charles Simonyi, who once used a Soviet Ural-2 computer to learn programming, will use a Soviet-era Russian spaceship on Saturday to reach his long-time dream of traveling in space.

InfoWorld - ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is considering a change in the way the Internet's governing body is organized that could allow it to skirt some potential legal issues.

PC World - Pacific Gas & Electric Co., a California-based energy utility, is extending an energy-savings rebate program, already available for servers, to disk storage equipment.

InfoWorld - Without a doubt, the most influential factor driving the current state of IT security is the ubiquitous presence of Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system on a vast majority of the world's PCs.

PC World - Microsoft Corp.'s failure to spot the animated cursor bug in Windows Vista is, at best, a flag to hackers that old flaws may abound in the new operating system, researchers said Friday. At worst, it's a disconcerting sign that Vista's security-oriented development process slipped up.

InfoWorld - Pacific Gas & Electric, a California-based energy utility, is extending an energy-savings rebate program, already available for servers, to disk storage equipment.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Computer Web search leader Google Inc. on Friday stepped up an experiment to use speech recognition on telephones so consumers can ask for local information, in a challenge to directory assistance providers.

Reuters - Computer Web search leader Google Inc. on Friday stepped up an experiment to use speech recognition on telephones so consumers can ask for local information, in a challenge to directory assistance providers.