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Lots of good advice on Internet research with links to useful tools.

A poster linking to Web 2.0 tools

Article about how the authorities in the Chinese province of Xinjiang cut off Internet and even SMS access in an attempt to curtail protest movements. Covers the way people were using the Internet as well as the effective the ban is having on local businesses and their customers.

"August 02, 2007 - Ellen uses Assistive Technology to go about her day to day life - both at home and in college. Ellen has Cerebral Palsy and has difficulty controlling her body - she is able to access her Assistive Technology using two head switches. Through these head switches, Ellen is able to drive her powered chair, communicate with people, access the computer and internet and control her TV and household equipment."

June 28, 2008 - This stop-motion animation depicts the changing geography of the globalizing world. "It is based on the percentage of the population with internet access, which in China is quite low while in Latin America it is quite high."

"A survey of Chinese scientists who use Google much more than local search engines. China's roughly 380 million internet users. 78% of the scientists who responded to Nature's survey say that international collaborations would be affected to the same degree. Scientists in the 25-34 year age range were most likely to say that losing Google would significantly hamper their research."

- By Evgeny Morozov | Foreign Policy

"Facebook's millions of users are a lucrative target for internet criminals looking to steal passwords and more. To combat malicious attacks, phishing scams and spam, the online social network is rolling out new security features."

"Features introduced last month include the ability for partner websites such as micro-blogging site Twitter to incorporate Facebook data, a move that would further expand the social network's presence on the internet. Critics said they were worried personal information about Facebook users was available to third-party websites." "When you meet somebody face to face, you can tell a lot from body language and instincts, and you cannot do that when you are dealing with somebody online."

'Educational Videos, Created by Kids for Kids, Raise Awareness of Internet Risks and Teach Preventive Measures'

"Facebook should adopt tighter security measures to protect its users, according to a leading internet firm."

Repressive regimes around the world may have fallen behind their opponents in recent years in exploiting new technologies - not unexpected when aging autocrats face younger, more tech-savvy opponents. But in Minsk and Moscow, Tehran and Beijing, governments have begun to climb the steep learning curve and turn the new Internet tools to their own, antidemocratic purposes.

A Dutch schoolteacher with no formal training in astronomy, Ms. van Arkel had joined tens of thousands of other Web volunteers to help classify photographs taken by deep-space telescopes. Stumped by the unusual image on her computer screen, she e-mailed the project staff for guidance. Staff members were stumped, too. And thus was christened the celestial body now known to astronomers worldwide as Hanny's Voorwerp (Dutch for "object"). Stories like Ms. van Arkel's are becoming more common, as the Internet opens up new opportunities for so-called citizen scientists. And as millions of people get involved in these participatory projects, scientists are grappling with how best to harness the amateurs' enthusiasm.

"Hussam al-Yaqoub, a 22-year-old medical student, is glued to his laptop in an internet cafe in downtown Damascus, catching up with friends on Facebook."

You may think the only people capable of snooping on your Internet activity are government intelligence agents or possibly a talented teenage hacker holed up in his parents' basement. But some simple software lets just about anyone sitting next to you at your local coffee shop watch you browse the Web and even assume your identity online.