According to a report produced by the PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) the PC is the largest single platform for games with annual worldwide revenues of US$10.7 billion. This is more than any of the consoles currently available from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.

PCGA president Randy Stude told the BBC these figures underline the PC as the "Number one platform for gaming world wide." He said, "Despite Xbox LIVE and PlayStation, the online platform that remains the most accessible and robust is the PC."

The report, released to coincide with the opening of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, noted the three biggest trends in 2008 were:

• The growth of online digital distribution via services like Valve’s Steam
• The growth of free games with a virtual item purchase model
• The growing presence of game cards at major retailers like 7-Eleven

The report also contains many interesting factoids such as:

• Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) are the leading products for both revenue and profits
• World of Warcraft is generating over $1 billion in annual revenue
• PC games regularly generate over $50 million in sales but can generate substantially more in subscription and/or add-on revenue
• Several Asian MMOGs are generating over $100 million in annual revenue after 5+ years on the market
• The Lich King expansion to World of Warcraft outsold its predecessor.
• In 2008, two major new subscription MMOGs, Warhammer Online and Age of Conan, sold over 1 million units each.

However, the PCGA is an umbrella organization for companies interested in promoting the PC as a gaming platform. Mr Stude, its president, works for Intel, the chip manufacture behind most of the CPUs that drive PCs. So its reports may be little biased. Something the BBC interview did not point out.

Still, I don't think anyone needs the PCGA to tell them MMOGs are where all the fun's at.

Sixteen-year-old Kimberley Swann has been sacked from Ivell Marketing & Logistics in Clacton-on-Sea, England. Her boss, Stephen Ivell had seen comments she had left for her friends on her Facebook page.

We all have had a good moan about our jobs from time to time. But from now on, you had better be careful where you do it.

Kimberley Swann started work as an office administrator just under a month ago. The first day was not what she had hopped it would be. She posted to Facebook, "first day at work. omg !! So dull!!" Then two days later, "all i do is shred holepunch n scan paper!!! omg!" Another fortnight produced, "im so totally bord!!!"

On Feb. 23, Ms Swann was called into the office of boss, Stephen Ivell and sacked on the spot. She was handed a letter and marched from the offices. The letter said:

"Following your comments made on Facebook about your job and the company we feel it is better that, as you are not happy and do not enjoy your work, we end your employment with Ivell Marketing & Logistics with immediate effect.

Ms Swann told the Daily Mail:

"I didn't even put the company's name, I just put that my job was boring. They were just being nosy, going through everything. I think it is really sad, it makes them look stupid that they are going to be so petty.

Is posing a comment on Facebook any different from making the same comments to a friend in a public place? Ms Swann thinks Mr Ivell overreacted, she said:

"I was an office administrator, so of course it was boring at first and I knew it would get more interesting. I was happy there, although they said I wasn't. It's not fair. I think it's really out of order but there is nothing I can do now.

Mr Ivell told the Daily Mail his firm had done everything by the book:

"We were looking for a long-term relationship with Miss Swann as we do with all our staff. Her display of disrespect and dissatisfaction undermined the relationship and made it untenable. "It is unfortunate that we didn't come up to Miss Swann's expectations on this occasion and we wish her every success in the future

Mr Ivell appears to be motivated by protecting his company's image. According to Miss Swann:

"He called me into the office and said, 'I have seen your comments on Facebook and I don't want my company being in the news.' They said it was not good for the company.

If that was the objective then this heavy-handed action has backfired gaining Ivell Marketing & Logistics national coverage in the UK MSM and internationally on the internet.

However, this is another warning for any users of social media sites. Do not ever consider them private or erasable.

The ambitious Europeana digital library opened on Thursday Nov. 20, only to be overwhelmed and crash. Its objective is to bring Europe's cultural heritage out of its museums and libraries and onto the internet.

The site was designed to handle up to five-million users per hour. But it was receiving 10-million hits an hour when it crashed at 11:30 am. Despite increasing the number of servers from three to six, the site crashed again early evening. It is now offline and displays the message, "We are doing our utmost to reopen Europeana in a more robust version as soon as possible."

Europeana currently holds some two-million paintings, photographs, sound recordings, maps, manuscripts, newspapers and documents. According EU commissioner Viviane Reding Europeana will, "enable a Czech student to browse the British library without going to London, or an Irish art lover to get close to the Mona Lisa without queuing at the Louvre."

Europeana has 14 staff and an annual budget of 2.5 million euros (US$3.15 million). The aim is to have 10 million works available by 2010. It will be back online by mid-December 2008.

The US has a thriving, if dubious, export business in "contract cheating." This is the writing of student papers and course work for money. The UK is a major market for the US. However, this lucrative export trade is under threat from globalization.

UK colleges go to great lengths to detect and punish cheating, employing software to spot outright copying. However, as contract cheats often produce original work, such abuse difficult to detect.

Dr Thomas Lancaster and Robert Clarke at the UKs Birmingham City University have been following the phenomenon since 2004. They told the Deccan Herald that over a 20-month period between 2004 and 2006, they recorded some 1,000 students cheating worldwide. The majority on IT-related courses, a third in the UK.

The Open Rights Group (ORG) will not verify the result of London’s May elections. Saying, "There is insufficient evidence available to allow independent observers to state reliably whether the results ... are an accurate representation of voters’ intentions."

The elections for the Mayor of London and the 25-member London Assembly are among the most important local elections in the UK. An independent body, London Elects, organizes them.

This year’s elections were the first in London under a new UK law allowing for officially sanctioned, independent observers. ORG was one such group.