Downing Street's defunct online petition page has been replaced with a new website that will give the public a "megaphone" to make themselves heard, it was announced today.

Commons Leader Sir George Young said any campaign on the site that was backed by 100,000 signatures would trigger consideration for debate in Parliament.

It will be up to the Commons backbench business committee to assess all petitions that qualify and decide whether they should be given time from the 35 days it is allocated each session for non-governmental business.

No 10's e-petition site was suspended ahead of the general election then shelved by the coalition.

Hollywood film giants battling against online piracy today won a test case action in the High Court against the UK's biggest internet service provider.

They had urged a judge in London to grant an order which would force BT to cut off or impede customers' access to a website accused of "flagrant" copyright infringement.

Mr Justice Arnold, giving his reserved ruling in the case following a hearing last month, announced: "I will make an order substantially in the form sought by the studios."

Major studios, including Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures Corporation and Disney Enterprises brought the proceedings over the Newzbin2 website, which has around 700,000 members.

The action, brought on behalf of all members of the Motion Picture Association of America, is believed to be the first in Britain where an attempt is being made to force an internet provider to block a site under the 1988 Copyright, Design and Patents Act (CDPA).

Facebook and Twitter are helping to improve and speed up responses to natural disasters and health emergencies by involving members of the public, it was claimed today.

Social media allowed an "unprecedented" two-way exchange of information between the public and those given the task of preparing for and responding to major events such as earthquakes, floods and infection pandemics, said researchers.

"By sharing images, texting and tweeting, the public is already becoming part of a large response network, rather than remaining mere bystanders or casualties," said the US team led by Dr Raina Merchant, an emergency medicine expert from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr Who has been beaten to the top spot in a poll of sci-fi fans to find their favourite hero by the star of a show that was cancelled after one series.

The poll picked Captain Mal Reynolds, star of cult American television series Firefly, as the ultimate sci-fi hero beating the timelord, now in his 11th incarnation, into second place.

Torchwood's Captain Jack Harkness was third in the poll of 10,000 people followed by vampire slayer Buffy and her co-star Spike.

Dave Bradley, editor-in-chief of SFX magazine which commissioned the poll, said: "Few people would have bet against Doctor Who topping this poll, but the surprise win for Mal Reynolds shows how much love there still is for Firefly.

"Putting the top 100 icons to the vote really caught people's imagination - sci-fi is more popular than ever before."

The top 10 sci-fi heroes are:
1) Captain Mal Reynolds (Firefly)
2) The Doctor (Doctor Who)
3) Captain Jack (Torchwood)
4) Buffy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
5) Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
6) Ianto (Torchwood)
7) Harry Potter
8) Mr Spock (Star Trek)
9) Dean Winchester (Supernatural)
10) Starbuck (Battlestar Galactica)

Atlantis and four astronauts returned from the International Space Station in triumph today, bringing an end to Nasa's 30-year shuttle journey with one last, rousing touchdown that drew cheers and tears.

A record crowd of 2,000 gathered near the landing strip, thousands more packed Kennedy Space Centre and countless others watched from afar as NASA's longest-running spaceflight programme came to a close.

"After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle's earned its place in history. And it's come to a final stop," commander Christopher Ferguson radioed after a ghostlike Atlantis glided through the twilight.

"Job well done, America," replied Mission Control.

News International fell victim to computer hackers as a group targeted The Sun's website.

Hacking collective LulzSec, which has previously targeted companies including Sony, claimed it carried out the hijack, via messages on Twitter.

Visitors to The Sun's site last night were redirected to a hoax story about Rupert Murdoch's suicide.

Internet users trying to access thesun.co.uk were taken to new-times.co.uk and a story entitled "Media mogul's body discovered".

Image via Wikipedia

GCHQ - Britain's top secret electronic spy agency - is struggling to retain key cyber security specialists because it cannot match the wages offered by firms such as Microsoft and Google, it was disclosed today.

The parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said it was "concerned" GCHQ was unable to retain a "suitable cadre of internet specialists" to deal with the growing threat of cyber warfare.

In its annual report, the committee - made up of senior MPs and peers - also rebuked GCHQ for losing track of equipment worth up to £1 million over the past 10 years.

Image by ama_lia via Flickr

Lady Gaga's YouTube account was suspended. A notice said the suspension was due to "multiple or severe violations of YouTube's copyright policy".

Google-owned YouTube declined to comment.

It is YouTube policy to remove accounts after three copyright violations, although they can be restored after being corrected.

Reports have suggested that the infringing video was a recently uploaded clip of Lady Gaga's performance on Fuji TV. The singer's publicist and record label were not available for comment.

The account is one of two for Lady Gaga. The removed channel is run by Gaga's camp, while she also has an unaffected Vevo account. That account, which has more than 1.6 billion views, generally debuts her music videos.

Most consumers order multiple sizes of clothes when ordering online, sending back goods worth more than half a billion pounds, a new report has revealed.

Online shopping comparison website Kelkoo said a lack of standardised sizing among retailers was fuelling a "buy before you try" culture among UK shoppers.

A study among 1,500 adults found that almost two-thirds ordered multiple sizes of the same item when shopping online.

Half of those questioned said their clothes size varied between retailers and one in four had problems finding something to fit properly.

Online recruitment is increasing, especially in engineering firms, but many new jobs are part-time, according to research.

Recruitment firm Monster said its employment index, reviewing job opportunities from a number of career websites, had increased by 8% in the past year to its highest level since the end of 2008.

Manufacturing jobs such as plant and machine operators, assemblers and craft positions showed the biggest growth, especially in the South West.

Michael Gentle, of Monster, said: "With ONS (Office for National Statistics) figures showing unemployment edging downward and employment rising by 376,000 people over the year, the UK certainly has reason to feel comforted by an expanding job market.

"However, a lot of new employment opportunities have come in the form of part-time work, especially in sectors like construction where firms are recruiting but not for long-term positions.

"This suggests the job market might not be as steady as the figures initially suggest.

Nonetheless, overall recruitment growth continues in a positive direction, especially in the economy's key sectors."