Asia

Thailand's government is demanding that YouTube help identify the users who posted insulting videos of the country's king. The demands from Thailand's Communications Minister, quoted in local press, reopen a controversy that has been widely reported as over.

YouTube, a Google subsidiary, earlier agreed to remove four video clips that clearly insulted Thailand's King, in a letter to Thai Communications Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom.

Japanese hard drive maker Fujitsu has developed new technology that will increase the storage capacity of hard disk drives by up to 6 times, according to reports published in Japan today.

The company has released few details of the discovery, which greatly enhances the ability of a drive's read head to resolve data encoded magnetically on the disk surface. it is expected to reach the market within two years, according to the reports.

EMI will publish music videos created by fans for the first time under a new scheme being tested in Japan. Under the plan, fan-created videos, such as 'The Back Dorm boys' will be distributed through EMI's website alongside official video releases, according to Japanese press reports.

Panasonic hid evidence that workers were poisoned at a battery factory, a report in a Chinese newspaper claims. Even pregnant women were not warned they might have been exposed to high levels of Cadmium, a potentially lethal heavy metal, the report alleges, quoting a manager who says he was laid off when he threatened to turn whistleblower.

Movie pirates ran a DVD factory in secret for two years by pretending they were scientists conducting research into highly contagious avian flu, according to Chinese police. The factory, in a quiet farming area in eastern China, sold more than 30 million DVDs before authorities finally noticed the mysterious flow of discs coming from the claimed 'research facility'.

Initially, the warnings about the hazard of deadly bird flu infections had been enough to keep local residents and suspicious officials well away from the factory at the end of a forest road.