The number of websites has burst above one billion and is growing apace, according to figures updated in real time Tuesday by online tracker Internet Live Stats.

Tim Berners-Lee, considered the father of the World Wide Web, touted the milestone on Twitter -- one of the most prominent websites in the mushrooming but sometimes murky Internet world.

New-generation Apple software for powering its coveted mobile devices is set for release on Wednesday, two days ahead of the arrival of its latest iPhones.

The iOS 8 mobile operating system will be available free for download to many iPhone and iPad models and will be pre-installed on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which hit the market on Friday.

Early reviews of Apple iPhone 6 models to be released on Friday sang praises of the large-screen handsets, proclaiming that bigger truly is better.

"The public asked for bigger and Apple delivered not only bigger but better, too," tech news website Slash Gear said in its review.

Google said Monday that worldwide government requests for user data rose 150 percent over five years, as the Internet giant renewed its call for reforms to allow for greater disclosure.

Updating the company's twice-yearly "transparency report," Google legal director Richard Salgado said "we’ve seen a 15 percent increase since the second half of last year, and a 150 percent jump since we first began publishing this data in 2009."

Apple on Monday began helping people boot U2 off their iTunes accounts after a cacophony of complaints about not wanting the automatically downloaded free album by the Irish rock band.

U2 performed at the close of an Apple event last week marked by the unveiling of new large-screen iPhones, a smartwatch from the California company, and word that free copies of the band's new "Songs of Innocence" album were instantly delivered to the more than half-billion iTunes accounts around the world.

Microsoft on Monday sent out invitations to a September 30 event at which it is expected to provide a glimpse at the next version of its Windows operating system.

The U.S. software titan revealed little with invitations that read: "Join us to hear what's next for Windows and the enterprise."

Samsung Electronics Co. has accused senior executives from rival LG Electronics Inc. of vandalizing its washing machines at stores in Germany earlier this month and has asked for an official investigation.

In a statement Sunday, Samsung said it had asked the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to investigate executives from a South Korean company who were seen damaging Samsung washing machines displayed at shopping malls in Berlin. A Samsung spokesman confirmed that the Korean company referred to was LG.

Move over Pokemon, a legion of new cutesy monsters is haunting Japan and set to break out all over the world after trampling the competition at home.

"YO-Kai Watch" is a nexus of manga comics, anime cartoons and computer games that revolve around the life of a school boy and the monsters -- "Yokai" -- that he summons with his wrist strap.

Rockstar Games on Friday announced that the latest installment of its crime-themed blockbuster video game "Grand Theft Auto" will hit PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles in November.

"Grand Theft Auto V" will be packed with enhancements when it is released for play on the new-generation consoles from rivals Microsoft and Sony, according to publisher Take-Two Interactive Software.

Wealthy mainland Chinese looking to buy the new iPhone 6 next week could expect to pay an eye-watering U.S.$2,500 for the handsets in Hong Kong, following Apple's decision to delay the launch in China.

Hong Kong has long been a hub for resold and refurbished phones, and delighted vendors there were coping with a flood of pre-orders from the Apple-obsessed mainland.