Twitter says it has for the first time blocked an account with its "country withheld content" function, shutting out a banned German neo-Nazi group at the behest of local authorities.

Twitter spokesman Dirk Hensen said Thursday the account (at)hannoverticker has been blocked in Germany only, where its content is considered illegal.

An Australian race crew hoping to beat their British rivals to a new supersonic land-speed record launched their bid Thursday, unveiling the first parts of their rocket-powered bullet car.

Daredevil drag-racer Rosco McGlashan has dreamed of being the fastest man on wheels since, aged 12, he saw Britain's Donald Campbell hit 403 miles (645 kilometers) per hour on Australia's Lake Eyre saltpan in 1964.

Brain wave-controlled robot suits that allow wearers to don heavy radiation protection without feeling the weight were unveiled in Japan on Thursday.

Researchers showed off the latest incarnation of HAL, the Hybrid Assistive Limb, a full body suit that could eventually be used by workers dismantling the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Electronically managed steering that completely bypasses the mechanical link of a clutch is among the new safety technology from Japanese automaker Nissan. Other vehicles are smart enough to park themselves. And some swerve automatically to avoid pedestrians.

Nissan Motor Co. Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita said the latest safety advancements are proactive, unlike air-bags and other "passive" features that are triggered by a crash.

Microsoft said on Tuesday its new Surface tablet computer -- designed to challenge Apple's iPad -- will be sold at roughly the same price as the market leader.

Microsoft began taking pre-orders for the Surface, which will start at $499 (382 euros) for U.S. customers for a tablet with 32 gigabytes of memory. A 64GB version bundled with a black touch cover is priced at $699.

Apple sent out invitations Tuesday for an event in exactly one week's time where the company is widely expected to unveil a new "iPad Mini," a smaller version of its market-leading tablet computer.

"We've got a little more to show you," said the invitations for the October 23 event in San Jose, California.

European data protection agencies on Tuesday said Google's new privacy policy does not comply with EU laws and told the U.S. Internet giant to fix it within months or face legal action.

"Google has a few months, three or four months, to comply. If it takes no action, we will enter a phase of litigation," said the head of France's CNIL data agency, which took a lead role in a European probe into the company.

The New York Times has announced that it will launch an online Portuguese-language edition designed for Brazil in 2013.

"The new Web edition will provide Times-quality content to an audience in Brazil that is educated, affluent and connected with the rest of the world." the U.S. media group said in a statement released Sunday.

Yahoo! on Monday announced it had nabbed another key Google executive, naming Henrique de Castro as chief operating officer.

De Castro will report directly to chief executive Marissa Mayer, who came from Google in July to help turn around the struggling Internet pioneer.

A new cyberespionage tool linked to the Flame virus has been infecting computers in Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere, security researchers said Monday.

Kaspersky Lab, which was credited with revealing the Flame virus earlier this year, dubbed the new malware "miniFlame," and said it was "a small and highly flexible malicious program designed to steal data and control infected systems during targeted cyber espionage operations."