Communications Technology

Zynga, maker of popular social networking games such as FarmVille, said that its players had raised $US1 million ($991,081) for Save the Children’s Japan relief efforts.

Zynga asked users to donate money through the purchase of virtual goods in FarmVille, CityVille, FrontierVille and its other games.

All of the proceeds from the purchase of sweet potatoes in CityVille, radishes in FarmVille or kobe cows in FrontierVille are going towards Save the Children’s relief efforts.

Zynga spokeswoman Dani Dudeck said in a message on her Twitter feed that the money for the Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund was raised in 36 hours.

“We at Zynga are grateful that we can offer some assistance to Save the Children by mobilising our technology, people and amazing community of players to support this organisation in providing aid to the children of Japan,” the company added in a blog post.

Zynga has raised millions of US dollars in recent years through similar campaigns, most notably for the relief efforts in Haiti.

Zynga is one of a number of US technology giants offering digital ways to donate to Japan’s recovery from the massive earthquake and devastating tsunami.

Apple has set up an option on iTunes to allow users to donate from $US5 to $US200 to the American Red Cross and the Red Cross has launched a campaign on Facebook through the social media giant’s Causes function.

Twitter is providing information and advice as well as directing people to resources on the ground and offering ways to donate to help survivors.

Google’s Crisis Response page offers a “person finder” service for people searching for information about friends or family and other resources.

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Iranian hackers working for the powerful Revolutionary Guard’s paramilitary Basij group have launched attacks on websites of the “enemies,” a state-owned newspaper reported in a rare acknowledgment from Iran that it’s involved in cyber warfare.

The report followed an announcement in January that Iran had formed its first cyber police unit in an attempt by authorities to gain an edge in the digital world.

The internet has also been a key outlet for Iran’s opposition since the 2009 disputed presidential election. In addition, Iran has been trying to boost its web defenses after the Stuxnet computer worm made its way into computers involved with the country’s controversial nuclear program.

General Ali Fazli, acting commander of the Basij, was quoted by state-owned IRAN paper as saying Iran’s cyber army is made up of university teachers, students and clerics. He said its attacks were a retaliation for similar attacks on Iran, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency. There were no further details about the possible targets or the time of the attacks.

“As there are cyber attacks on us, so is our cyber army of the Basij, which includes university instructors and students, as well as clerics, attacking websites of the enemy,” Fazli said. “Without resorting to the power of the Basij, we would not have been able to monitor and confront our enemies.”

So far, the Revolutionary Guard — Iran’s military-industrial powerhouse — was believed linked to the secretive “Cyber Army” that emerged to fight opposition websites and blogs after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election in 2009.

In February, Guard chief, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, signaled that the force supports the cyber army, describing it as a “defensive, security, political and cultural need for all countries”. Jafari claimed at the time that the Guard have been successful in cyber warfare.

Iran has been seeking to master the digital world as a crucial step to prepare for what it calls “soft war”, which includes fighting against cyber attacks such as the Stuxnet computer worm that Iran said was aimed at sabotaging its uranium enrichment program.

Iranian officials claimed there were no setbacks in nuclear operations from Stuxnet but a November report by the UN nuclear agency said Iran’s enrichment program was temporarily shut down in a possible link to the worm’s infiltration at the Natanz nuclear facility.

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Google has awarded nearly $US9 million ($8.89m) in bonuses and another $US50 million in equity to four top executives of the internet giant, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Patrick Pichette, Google’s chief financial officer, received a $US2.7 million bonus and $US15 million in equity while chief business officer Nikesh Arora received a $US2.7 million bonus and $US20 million in equity.

Google’s senior vice president for engineering and research Alan Eustace was awarded a $US1.8 million bonus and another $US10 million in equity, according to the SEC filing.

Senior vice president for product management Jonathan Rosenberg received a $US1.7 million bonus and $US5 million in equity.

Google’s outgoing chief executive Eric Schmidt and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin did not receive any additional compensation.

Page is to replace Schmidt as Google’s CEO in April.

Google announced plans in January to give Schmidt $US100 million in stock and stock options.

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