With a flick of the wrist, residents of a futuristic home developed in Spain can browse Internet pages displayed on the living room walls, switch off a giant projected alarm clock in the bedroom or transform the entire interior into a busy streetscape or tranquil beach.

It may seem light years ahead of current "smart home" technology, but this prototype apartment in Fuenterrabia, a city in Spain's northern Basque country, is far from the realms of fantasy.

Hackers have claimed the scalp of the South African Ministry of State Security's Twitter account, underlining concerns that Africa may be the soft underbelly of global cyber security.

As part of what was described as a large-scale attack spammers hijacked the @StateSecurityRS account to advertise a "miracle diet" before officials were able to change the password and regain control.

A 10-year wait ends Tuesday with the arrival of 'SimCity,' a computer game that challenges players to build thriving cities in the face of conditions such as limited funds and climate change.

The sequel to the city-building computer game that factors in real-world consequences of energy choices, urban plans, and policy decisions debuts in the U.S. for $60 a copy.

Hybrids aren't just for fuel economy any more.

McLaren on Tuesday unveiled a sleek hybrid supercar at the Geneva Motor Show. Sculpted from carbon fiber, in a glittery racing yellow set off by hash-marked slate gray, the McLaren P1 cuts a racetrack figure while boasting superior — for its class — emissions under 200 grams per kilometer. That compares with over 300 grams/kilometer for a super car without hybrid.

Precious mediaeval books, usually displayed in glass cases and touchable only with gloves, can now be read in glorious 3D, thanks to a system unveiled Tuesday at the world's top tech fair.

With the 3D interactive book explorer, developed by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute, users browse through the sinewy Latin text and colorful illustrations penned centuries ago but in a distinctly up-to-date manner.

A conservation group claims that Google has something in common with illicit ivory traders in China and Thailand: It says the Internet search giant is helping fuel a dramatic surge in ivory demand in Asia that is killing African elephants at record levels.

The Environmental Investigation Agency, a conservation advocacy group, said in a statement Tuesday that there are some 10,000 ads on Google Japan's shopping site that promote the sale of ivory.

Supporters of an armed bid by Filipino intruders to lay claim to a Malaysian state took their campaign to cyberspace on Monday, manipulating Google search listings to show a message backing the incursion.

A Google search for the word "Sabah", the state at the center of Malaysia's biggest security crisis in years, came back with a search results page that quotes "Wikipedia" calling Malaysian control of the state "illegitimate."

With virtual bodyguards, panic buttons and maps to pinpoint harassment blackspots, women in urban India are using their smartphones for protection after a notorious gang-rape in New Delhi.

Interest in safety apps and websites has surged since the fatal December attack, in which a 23-year-old student was set upon by a drunken gang on her way home from a cinema in the Indian capital.

Fifteen years after he patented caller ID technology, Brazilian inventor Nelio Jose Nicolai is no millionaire.

Quite the opposite: out of work since 1984, the co-inventor of the ubiquitous tool is still fighting to collect royalties.

The world's biggest high-tech fair, the CeBIT, kicks off Tuesday, pinning its hopes on growing tech regions Asia and Africa and the hot topic of social media to beat competition from other high-profile fairs.

More than 4,000 exhibitors from some 70 countries are expected to set up shop in the northern German city of Hanover, about the same number as last year despite the weak economic environment, organizers said.