Google has launched Books on Google Play in nine more European countries: The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania. (Hat tip to Android Police.) This means Google is now selling ebooks in 27 countries. In addition to the nine above, the list includes the U.S., U.K., Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, South Korea and Spain.

Actor Richard E Grant has issued an extensive tirade against car brand Mini via Twitter, after he claimed his daughter suffered a steering problem with the vehicle. He channelled his most famous character portrayal, the inebriate Withnail from the 1987 classic Withnail and I, saying at one point: "I hope the fuckers will rue the day!"

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has made her first step returning to public life with the launch of an enigmatic new website. JuliaGillard.com.au currently has no content, no tabs, and no indication of what it will contain. The site facilitates contact via a form, but the site currently hosts a studio portrait of the former Prime Minister, and nothing else.

Xan Blacker and Richard Hardisty, the British creators of the new platform, have won early support from influential names such as Stephen Fry andRichard Dawkins. Fry, who has tweeted his support for the initiative, certainly has faith that trolls will find it difficult to undermine discussions on the site. "The essence of trolling is anonymity," he told the Observer last weekend.

Senior management at The Independent have told staff that they could struggle to produce a print edition beyond 2015 unless proposed costs are cut. At a meeting held to discuss a new wave of redundancies at the Independent titles, managing director Andrew Mullins and content director Chris Blackhurst for the first time hinted that the survival of the print edition of The Independent could be under threat.

The number of people accessing Facebook via their mobile phones grew around 20% both in the US and the UK during June 2013. The social networking site's US mobile monthly active users rose 18%, while it reported 22% growth in the UK to about 22 million users over the corresponding period previous year. Facebook Britain and Southern Europe regional director, James Quarles, said that as people are away and on holiday, it provides a different opportunity for brands to think differently about Facebook.

Former director of advertising operations at Trinity Mirror Guljeet Samra has joined Hearst Corporation's principal business in the UK as advertising operations director across its digital businesses. Samra brings with her more than nine years' experience in innovative digital media and commercial strategy to the role, not to mention her two and half years in senior roles at Trinity Mirror.

The Scotsman has announced that it is poised to launch a revamped website in a bid to improve functionality of its digital presence. This will give the Edinburgh Evening News, currently embedded within The Scotsman and Scotland and Sunday, its own dedicated mobile and desktop site as a go to point for local news.

In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets. The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins. The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.

Channel 4 is unveiling an 11 episode show, Don't Blame Facebook, which is set to focus on people who have been Tubes, Twits and have probably Facepalmed themselves afterwards. The show features stories of social media mishaps, by looking individually at 11 people who have underestimated the power and reach of social media: from Robin Hood airport tweeter Paul Chambers to a school in Accrington's Gangnam Style video parody.