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NEWS IN BRIEF

Networks & Network Services

Putin doesn’t text Vladimir Putin doesn’t have a mobile phone, according to his telecommunications minister Leonid Reiman. That makes him pretty unusual; there are 132 mobile phones for every 100 Russians.Chinese porn blockChinese police are to monitor mobile phone payment platforms in an effort to close down pornographic websites. “As everyone knows, pornographic photos and service providers set their prices fairly high. Therefore monitoring can be improved by specially targeting higher priced services,” said the director of the Public Information Network Security Supervision Bureau. Porn is outlawed in China.Nasty Nazi ringtones A 20-year old man in Austria has been found guilty of breaking a law against displaying Nazi propaganda when he used a Nazi song as a ringtone on his mobile phone. Police came across the ringtone after they called him into a police station on suspicion of burglary – and his phone rang while there.Fastest PC data cards Option and Nortel have successfully demonstrated live HSDPA transmission at 3.6Mbps from a PC data card. The calls included successful ‘real-world’ tests, among them a laptop placed in a moving vehicle. Option, which makes most of the wireless data cards on offer, called the results a world first.Tesco hits a million Tesco Mobile has reached 1m customers, just over two years after the MVNO – a 50:50 joint venture between Tesco and O2 – was launched.Where’s that kid World Tracker is a website that allows you to track any mobile phone around the globe. The user registers at the website, buys a bundle of location reports, and sends automated texts to ‘buddies’ (such as your kids and friends) inviting them to confirm that they’re happy to be located. The system claims to be accurate to 150m, though this may vary from one network to another. Currently it will work with any handset on O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile (with 3 to follow later). More at www.world-tracker.com.