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.

T-Mobile will sell more than 100 smartphone models with a built-in feature that taps into Wi-Fi networks to make phone calls and send texts when customers can't connect to the wireless carrier's cellular network.

The program announced Wednesday represents T-Mobile's latest attempt to lure wireless subscribers away from three larger rivals, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Corp. and Sprint Corp.

When it comes to video games, are they better late than never?

At this week's GameStop Expo, the video game retailer's annual consumer-centric event, more than 3,000 attendees had the chance to test drive highly anticipated titles like "Evolve," ''Dying Light" and "Battlefield Hardline" in the halls of the Anaheim Convention Center. However, it's probably the last time this year that gamers will be able to play those particular titles.

Bungie studio's new science fiction action video game "Destiny" landed in the record books on Wednesday, boasting the biggest ever launch of a new franchise.

Activision Publishing announced that more than $500 million worth of copies of "Destiny" had been snapped up by people eager to play or shops eying to sell the hotly-anticipated new game from the studio behind blockbuster "Halo."