Webwire: Blogger enables per-country blocks; Sony widens loss forecast

Governments can block Google blogs

Google is the latest firm to enable per-country blocking of content, developing a system to stop blogs. The system is initially for Australia, New Zealand and India, but will be deployed globally over time.

BBC

Sony widens FY loss forecast to $2.9b

Sony has increased its full-year loss forecast to 220 billion yen ($2.89 billion), warning of a worse than expected performance at Sony Ericsson, and reduced sales expectations for PlayStation 3s, cameras and PCs.

Bloomberg

Google confirms “Bouncer” Market scanner

Google has confirmed the existence of “Bouncer” a program that scans the Android marketplace for known malware and for behavior indicative of an infected app.

All Things Digital

FT CEO defends Orange's 35% margins

France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard has defended to French parliament the 35% margins earned by mobile brand Orange in France. According to Richard, these margins are rather low compared to some of the group's other markets.

Les Echos [via Google Translate]

Twitter customer trial cleared

A US judge is allowing a phone review website to sue a former employee for lost business, after he took his 17,000 Twitter followers with him when he quit the firm.

Sydney Morning Herald

S Korean detained due to missed sarcasm: Amnesty

A South Korean activist detained for posting tweets interpreted as being pro-North Korean is a victim of “South Korean authorities’ complete failure to understand sarcasm,” an Amnesty International director has stated.

Agence France-Presse

Megaupload founder will not flee to Germany

Megaupload co-founder Kim Dotcom has dismissed suggestions he may flee from New Zealand to home country Germany - where he could avoid extradition to the US to face conspiracy and piracy charges - stating that he wants to stay and fight to have his assets unfrozen.

APNZ News Service

Taiwan's Action depicts Steve Jobs in tablet ad

Taiwan's Action Electronics has caused a stir with a TV ad depicting a Steve Jobs impersonator, clad in a turtleneck, angel wings and a halo, spouting the virtues of its Android tablet.

Reuters