Thousands of Canadian retailers already have equipment in place to let customers pay for purchases with a swipe of their mobile phones, putting the country in the lead in developing a system that could one day make cash obsolete. If consumers embrace the system - and that's still a big "if" - clip-and-save coupons, transit passes, library cards and perhaps even driver's licenses could become things of the past. All that's needed is an agreement among banks, credit card companies and telecoms; it's coming soon.

Internet payments system World Pay says the high amount of money spent online was due to the ability to shop while away from the computer. Over half purchased items while watching TV and 3% did so in the bathroom. Britain's mobile spending revolution is partly due to it having one of the highest rates of smartphone ownership, according to a separate survey from TNS, a research consultancy. Over half of Britons own app-enabled mobiles.

The European Data Protection Supervisor says the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement may trample individual rights. So far, 22 member states, including the UK, have signed up for the legislation. A debate on the EU's adoption of the treaty is expected in June. "While more international co-operation is needed for the enforcement of IP rights, the means envisaged must not come at the expense of the fundamental rights of individuals," said Giovanni Buttarelli, assistant European data protection supervisor.

Richard Allan, director of policy in Europe for the social network, is one of 12 members of the Digital Advisory Board that will inform the team behind Gov.uk, a single government domain currently in beta that's intended to eventually replace New Labour's Directgov website. It will be chaired by Martha Lane Fox, who reviewed the government's online services in 2010. The Cabinet Office has been in talks with Facebook and other industry players on identity-handling online. The board's first meeting took place on April 25.

While 71% of UK web users worry about the amount of personal information held online about them, 32% would still hand over confidential information, a new survey by security and computer management firm Faronics finds. One-third would hand over a password, bank account number or their mother's maiden name via email or social networks to someone they don't know. Many users will trust people they don't know when using sites like LinkedIn as they could be on the lookout for new job opportunities. One-third of respondents admitted to accepting contact requests on LinkedIn from people they don't know. Just 15% …

Asking participants where they went for technology news, a study by Eurocom Worldwide indicated that 78% used online media as their go-to for updates, way ahead of social media, print journals and national newspapers. Social media placed second to online, but still only managed 42%, while print journals and national newspapers managed 40% and 37% respectively. The readings could interest advertisers looking to boost their company's online profile, as good quality posts can be used to drive traffic to a website, through news content marketing.

Founded in 2008, Martini Media specialises in engaging with affluent business-to-business and lifestyle audiences via its own digital ad networks and technology platform. The expansion follows Martini Media's acquisition of UK B2B online ad network The Digital Partnership last summer. Since then, the UK business has doubled in size and added clients including Selfridges, Jaguar and UBS to its portfolio.

It's the first social networking-related conviction in Australian history. Ravshan ''Ronnie'' Usmanov told police: ''I put the photos up because she hurt me and it was the only thing [I had] to hurt her.'' Privacy experts say Usmanov's case has exposed the ''tip of the iceberg'' of online offences that rarely go punished. Sentencing the 20-year-old, the Deputy-Chief Magistrate, Jane Mottley, said she was ''deterring both the offender and the community generally from committing similar crimes''.

The regional court in Mannheim ruled that Nokia must stop sales of the 3G devices in Germany, though the beleaguered OEM can appeal. In any event, the vendor added, most of its newer products use different methods, a claim IPCom denies, insisting all 3G models are included. It's the latest twist in the handset patents saga, Nokia has lost a round to IPCom in Germany, which is seeking to bar the Finnish vendor's 3G smartphones from the country.

The online media provider, which made $60 million in profit in the first quarter of 2011, was pushed into a global loss in the first three months thanks to its launch in the UK & Ireland on 9 January. This pushed losses at its non-U.S. operations from $60 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 to $103 million in the three months to the end of March. Subscriber numbers to its international services, which are available in more than 40 markets outside the U.S., grew 65% from the previous quarter to 3.07 million by the end of March.