Google and Microsoft have introduced new champions in the fiercely competitive smartphone arena a week ahead of what is likely to be the hotly-anticipated debut of a next-generation iPhone by Apple.

Microsoft and Nokia joined Wednesday to boost their smartphone arsenal with two new Lumia handsets powered by Windows 8 software.

Tim Berners-Lee, the British inventor of the World Wide Web, on Wednesday warned governments that attempts to block the Internet were doomed to failure due to its scattered structure.

Speaking at the launch of a league table showing which countries use the web most effectively, Berners-Lee said the lack of a global internet "off-switch" meant authoritarian regimes could not stem the influx of digital information.

Sony said Thursday that hackers stole details belonging to hundreds of its mobile unit clients, the latest in a string of cyber-attacks to hit the embattled Japanese electronics giant.

A group calling itself "Null\Crew" said it had attacked a mobile communications server, with a Sony spokesman confirming the cyber thieves had grabbed information belonging to 400 customers in mainland China and Taiwan.

Zynga on Wednesday launched a new version of "FarmVille" as the one-time social games darling tries to win back players to one of the Facebook games that fueled its rise to stardom.

"We recognize that there are players who have moved on from FarmVille," said Zynga vice president of games Tim LeTourneau.

Al-Jazeera news network said on Wednesday a number of its websites had been hacked, and Internet users reported that pro-Syrian regime slogans were posted on the broadcaster's pages.

The main Arab satellite news channel said the host company of its websites came under a cyber attack which "caused readers wanting to access Al-Jazeera websites to be diverted to other pages not linked to us."

Rovio, the Finnish makers of the world's most-downloaded mobile app, "Angry Birds", will launch a new game called "Bad Piggies" on September 27, the company said Tuesday.

"This innovative game turns the franchise on its head by letting the fans play as the pigs," Rovio said in a statement.

Apple on Tuesday invited members of the media to a September 12 event in San Francisco for what is expected to be the debut of a new-generation iPhone.

Email invitations bore the cryptic message, "It's almost here," and a large number "12" casting a shadow that appeared to be the number five, suggesting that the event would spotlight the long-anticipated iPhone 5.

The White House rolled out upgraded "apps" to stay in tune with smartphone and tablet lovers as the Democratic National Convention got under way on Tuesday.

Improved applications for mobile gadgets powered by Apple or Android software were synched with a WhiteHouse.gov overhaul to make the website more conducive to visits from people using smartphones or tablets.

With much of the traditional cinema sector in a state of flux, Venice film festival participants said the industry is looking to a future in which the Internet will play an ever bigger role.

From hosting world film premieres on websites to young directors showcasing their work through the Internet, supporters in Europe say the web should no longer be seen as a money drain of pirated content but as a source of revenue.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics acknowledged Wednesday criticisms of working conditions at its plants in China, but rejected a U.S.-based watchdog's charge that they were "inhumane".

Samsung spokesman James Chung said the company had noted a report by China Labor Watch that found workers at the plants were required to put in excessive overtime and could not sit down while they worked.