Facebook went on the offensive Wednesday in an escalating row with Indian authorities over a controversial initiative which the social network says is aimed at widening online access in the developing world.

The social media giant took out billboards and full-page newspaper adverts and sent SMSs to defend its Free Basics service, which offers people without the Internet free access to a handful of websites through mobile phones.

The Japanese creator of the Hello Kitty character said Wednesday its foreign affiliate has corrected a flaw in the fan website that allegedly exposed private information on 3.3 million account-holders.

A spokesman for Sanrio in Tokyo said the affair was being investigated by the Hong Kong-based company Sanrio Digital, which is 30 percent owned by a Sanrio subsidiary and which independently operates sanriotown.com.

Apple chief Tim Cook emphatically rejected accusations that the world's richest company is sidestepping U.S. taxes by keeping bundles of cash overseas, suggesting that the claim was politically motivated.

World leaders last month approved a crackdown on tax avoidance by multinationals such as Apple, Google and McDonald's, major firms whose rock-bottom tax bills have provoked widespread outrage in the United States and beyond.

Microsoft is forming a joint-venture in China to tailor a version of its new Windows 10 computer operating system for use by the Chinese government.

"We're announcing a new joint venture that will license, deploy, manage and optimize Windows 10 for China's government agencies and certain state owned enterprises and provide ongoing support and services for these customers," Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi said in an online post late Wednesday.

Apple announced a major partnership with China UnionPay on Thursday to put is digital wallet to work in the world's most populous country.

China UnionPay customers will be able to add their bank cards to Apple Pay on iPhones, iPads, or Apple Watch wearables, the companies said in a joint statement.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter used his personal email for government business in the early part of his tenure, a spokesman said, triggering concerns that hackers would access sensitive information.

The revelation comes in the wake of the uproar over Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account while serving as secretary of state. That case became a Republican talking point as the former chief U.S. diplomat seeks the Democratic nomination for president in the 2016 election.

Facebook on Wednesday announced an alliance with Uber that lets people summon cars from the ride sharing service using the Messenger smartphone application.

The partnership was a major move for both California firms, further expanding Facebook's stand-alone messaging service beyond simply communicating and putting Uber in a social network-backed application with some 700 million users.

Google's new chief executive Sundar Pichai used his first official visit to India Wednesday to outline plans to bring hundreds of millions of Indians online, including installing free wifi at railway stations.

The Indian-born Pichai said the first train station, Mumbai Central, would go online in January and the tech giant intended to cover 100 of India's stations by the end of 2016.

Facebook on Tuesday modified a "real names" policy once protested by drag queen performers, the gay community, abuse victims and others.

New tools being tested in the United States were designed to reduce the number of people asked to verify their names at Facebook and make it easier for them to do so when needed.

A Facebook service that provides reviews of local businesses popped up on the Internet on Tuesday, and shares in crowd-sourced reviews star Yelp dropped.

A review service based on feedback from Facebook users launched at facebook.com/services with no fanfare or formal announcement..