Once the darling of the home computer industry, the Commodore brand name is to return to the high street via a new range of gaming PCs.

Commodore Gaming will launch a new breed of PCs aimed at gamers and will incorporate high-specification allowing them to play the latest state-of-the-art titles.

Bala Keilman, CEO for Commodore Gaming, said, “25 years ago, Commodore launched the best selling personal computer of the late 20th Century, the C64, and defined the early computer games experience for millions of people worldwide. We are privileged and excited to bring the Commodore brand back to the gaming community and mark a new chapter in its history with this exceptional machine. We’re sure that it will deliver what gamers need and want.”

The new range of optimised Gaming PCs will be launched at the CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany, on March 15

The world’s biggest game studio has been created with the help of 20,000 volunteers.

Thousands of people have signed up to help develop a community-built massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMO).

Developer Dave Perry and publisher Acclaim are building a professional MMO with the help of ordinary people.

One of the users will be chosen to “direct” a future game and will receive any royalties earned.

“I want it to be a title they own and feel excited about,” said Mr Perry, a 24-year veteran of the games industry.

Overwhelming response

The original goal was to try to develop a title faster than if it was done by professional developers alone, he said.

The project, known as Top Secret, is looking for artists, writers, designers and audio technicians from the ranks of ordinary gamers.

“With 20,000 people signed up we are already the biggest development team in history.

“We will end up with 100,000 people on this team. if 1% is any good, we are good to go.”

Gamers have been able to sign up since last week and Mr Perry said he had been overwhelmed by the response.

“There is a real pent-up level of interest we didn’t expect. We have touched a nerve.”

The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday.

The council chose an unfortunate anniversary to publish its decision approving the law, which came exactly 16 years after Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King were filmed by amateur videographer George Holliday in the night of March 3, 1991. The officers’ acquittal at the end on April 29, 1992 sparked riots in Los Angeles.

Microsoft Corp. is set to launch a blistering attack on rival Google Inc. on Tuesday for what the software giant argues is the Web search leader’s “cavalier” approach to copyright protection.

In prepared remarks to be delivered to the Association of American Publishers, Microsoft Associate General Counsel Thomas Rubin argues that Google’s move into new media markets has come at the expense of publishers of books, videos and software.

The Microsoft attorney’s comments echo arguments at the heart of a 16-month-old copyright lawsuit against Google brought by five major book publishers and organized by the Association of American Publishers, an industry trade group.

“Companies that create no content of their own, and make money solely on the backs of other people’s content, are raking in billions through advertising revenue and IPOs,” says Rubin, who oversees copyright and trade secret law at Microsoft.

“Google takes the position that everything may be freely copied unless the copyright owner notifies Google and tells it to stop,” said Rubin, noting that Microsoft takes the position of seeking the copyright owner’s consent before they copy.

Fearful of soaring Internet addiction and juvenile crime, China has banned the opening of new Internet cafes this year, state media reported on Tuesday.

“In 2007, local governments must not sanction the opening of new Internet bars,” Xinhua news agency on Tuesday quoted a directive jointly released by 14 government departments, including the Ministry of Culture, as saying.

The notice said Internet cafes that had received planning approval would need to be completed by June 30, 2007.

There are currently about 113,000 Internet cafes and bars in China, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Information Industry.