Google is expected to use its annual software developers' conference to showcase the latest mobile devices running on its Android software, while also unveiling other features in its evolving product line-up.

The gathering, scheduled to begin Wednesday morning in San Francisco, provides Google Inc. with an opportunity to flex its technological muscle in front of a sold-out audience of engineers and entrepreneurs who develop applications and other features that can make smartphones and tablets more appealing.

Vietnam's booming Internet scene is littered with failed startups that tried to take on Google and other entrenched U.S web companies. That's not deterring a newly launched Russian-Vietnamese outfit which believes it can unseat the American search engine in this fast-growing Asian market and also contend with a jittery, authoritarian government seeking to clamp down on freedom of expression online.

Like Google rivals elsewhere, Coc Coc, or "Knock Knock" in English, believes the ubiquitous search engine doesn't get the nuances of the local language. It says its algorithms make for a better, quicker search in Vietnamese, while its local knowledge means the information served will be more relevant — and hence more valuable.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion says it will offer its once-popular BlackBerry Messenger service on competing devices.

CEO Thorsten Heins said Tuesday that the time is right to offer BBM on rival devices. He says iPhone and Android versions will be available for free.

Nokia Corp. on Tuesday unveiled its first Lumia smartphone with a metal cover, low-light camera features and new social network apps. But the new model failed to impress investors, who sent the company's stock down more than 5 percent.

The features on the Lumia 925 — slimmer and lighter that the flagship Lumia 920 — will be soon available in the full Lumia Windows 8 range, Nokia said. They include an 8.7 megapixel camera that can take photos in low light conditions and snaps 10 images at once. It enables sharing on various social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr and Instagram.

Microsoft says a planned update to its Windows 8 operating system will be made available for free later this year.

The update is meant to address complaints and confusion that have been blamed for deepening a slump in personal computer sales. Microsoft isn't saying what kind of changes will be introduced with the release of the new system, though Microsoft plans to make a preview version available next month. The release of the final version is expected in time for the holiday season.

A German court ruled Tuesday against the country's version of search engine Google, finding that keywords thrown up by its 'auto-complete' function can be defamatory and ruling the company must remove offending words after complaints.

The case centered on a complaint by an unnamed entrepreneur who found that when he typed his name into the search box of the site www.google.de, the auto-complete function suggested results with the added words "Scientology" and "fraud".

The CEO of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion will deliver a keynote speech amid speculation that he'll introduce a lower-priced version of the BlackBerry at the company's annual three-day conference in Orlando, Fla.

CEO Thorsten Heins is set to speak Tuesday morning. RIM unveiled new, versatile BlackBerrys earlier this year after delays allowed Apple and others to dominate the smartphone market.

Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. has named a new president as it reshuffles top management while seeking to restore profitability after reporting a record loss of 545.4 billion yen ($5.4 billion).

The Osaka-based maker of Aquos TVs said Tuesday that Kozo Takahashi, currently an executive vice president, will become its president and CEO as of June 25 as part of a business reorganization aimed at returning to the black in the fiscal year ending March 2014 after years of losses.

Researchers at a Dutch university have developed an online program that is able give the age and gender of users purely based on the content they post on the social network Twitter.

Based on data from almost 3,000 Twitter users who "tweet" messages in 140 characters or less, researchers at the Twente University near the eastern city of Enschede have compiled lists of words and sequences corresponding with different ages and specific genders.

The French government is considering creating a new tax on smartphones and tablets in a bid to raise millions to support the creation of digital cultural content inside France.

The proposal, handed to President Francois Hollande Monday, outlines a 1 percent tax on the sale of Internet-compatible devices, targeting companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon. The tax would yield about 86 million euros per year. The revenue would help cultural industries create French content such as music, images and videos.