"Several China-based publications are reporting that Facebook has signed a deal with Chinese internet search giant Baidu to create a special social network for China. Facebook's is blocked by the Chinese government, so the rumors indicate that the company will create a new social network especially for Chinese market of 500 million internet users, and that this site won't be integrated with Facebook."

Shanghai Disneyland will include two themed hotels, a venue for retail, dining and entertainment, a lagoon and outdoor recreation areas.

Baidu, China's equivalent of Google, offers a window to the country's netizens in its blog "Baidu Beat". Take a look at a 2010 countdown list of the biggest internet phenomena in the region, including online variations of typical social behaviours: group buying (团购, tuángòu), time-sensitive discounts (秒杀, miǎoshā), and public voyeurism (围观, weiguan").

A great article on the current and future status of social networking and interactive entertainment in China.

"How Technology Has Changed Education"

Mickey Mouse in the Middle East? A Disney-affiliated investment firm signed on to help develop a 20-acre entertainment complex in Haifa, Israel. Plans include a small amusement park, a multiplex theatre, and a shopping mall.

An interesting article on how the video game industry is leading the next productivity revolution, from Silicon Valley to China.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that Brazil, Russia, India and China will invite South Africa to join BRIC, the world emerging economies group.

"Good news for good teachers: It turns out, the old drill-and-kill method is not only boring, but -- neurologically speaking -- pretty useless. Relevant, meaningful activities that both engage students emotionally and connect with what they already know are what help build neural connections and long-term memory storage (not to mention compelling classrooms). "

"Japan's anti-monopoly watchdog gave the official go-ahead on Thursday to a search-engine alliance between Yahoo Japan Corp and Google Inc that had been questioned by competitors."

"Yahoo just unveiled major redesigns and functionality changes for Arabic-language portal Yahoo! Maktoob that will funnel traffic away from yahoo.com. "

Which country would you guess is most addicted to Twitter? Would it surprise you to learn the answer is... Indonesia? The microblogging nation is also the world's fourth largest user of Facebook. Sara Sidner looks at how its people use social networks to rally support for social and political causes.

"Facebook has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the trademark on the word "face" when used in the context of online chat rooms or bulletin boards."

"Why did Google get away with slapped wrists and no fine for their data harvesting in the U.K.? "

"The tech world has been buzzing ever since TechCrunch named Qwiki the most disruptive company at TechCrunch Disrupt, a semi-annual contest between 27 rising startups hand-picked by the news site. "

"Keeping cash on hand is becoming less of a priority, even for cash loving Russian consumers, with mobile payments increasingly important on the Russian market and operators seeing it as a major revenues base. "

"The new mobile tools that Facebook unveiled today for third-party developers offer enormous opportunities for outside companies, whether they're game developers or brick-and-mortar businesses such as hotels or clothing stores. They also tie those companies closer to the social network -- in ways that might be uncomfortable for some. Here are some of the promises of the new features-and one peril:"

"Which metric more fully captures Lady Gaga's global superstardom: the 15 million albums she's sold to date, or the one billion views she reached this week on YouTube? "

Oakley enters the 3-D business with 3-D technology special edition Tron-themed glasses to be retailed worldwide. The company is developing high-quality, passive 3-D glasses that work in theaters, with 3-D video games, and with any passive 3-D TV set of any brand.

A new report from network security firm Arbor Networks says that all Google sites together now account for 6.4 percent of all Internet traffic. That sets a record and marks a full percentage point increase since the beginning of the year.