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At 12:01 EST Friday, a new cyber landrush will get under way, as the social-networking giant Facebook introduces so-called “vanity URLs” to its popular service. On a first-come, first-served basis, Facebook subscribers will be able to choose customized descriptors for their profiles.

According to Facebook designer Blaise Dispersia, the change will mean that instead of having a Facebook URL ending in a randomly assigned number — such as http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=123456789 — users can create a profile link that more clearly indicates their identity — for example, http://www.facebook.com/blaise.dispersia.

“When your friends, family members or coworkers visit your profile or pages on Facebook,” Dispersia said in a recent blog post, “they will be able to enter your username as part of the URL in their browser. This way people will have an easy-to-remember way to find you. We expect to offer even more ways to use your Facebook username in the future.”

Head Start for Businesses

In an effort to minimize the problem of cybersquatting that has plagued domain-name registrars, Facebook has given businesses the opportunity to preregister trademarked business names to prevent them from being claimed by others.

According to reports, tens of thousands of businesses have already preregistered trademarks. In addition, the company has quietly provided vanity URLs in advance to Facebook employees and “certain celebrities.”

A company that fails to preregister its trademark before Friday’s rush can probably get it back, but will probably need to obtain a court order, which can be both time-consuming and expensive.

Still Chasing Twitter

Facebook’s decision to incorporate vanity URLs into its site is another indication that despite its success, the social-networking site is uneasy about other upstart competitors, particularly the rapidly growing Twitter. Since its inception, Twitter has offered short URL links to profiles that match each user’s screen name, which generally makes it easier to find people on the site…

In its ongoing effort to regulate citizen access to Internet content, China has announced that all new computers sold in the country will be required to have preinstalled filtering software known as Green Dam-Youth Escort.

According to a statement published in a state-run newspaper, the Liberation Daily, the government’s objective is to protect the nation’s young people, who are flocking to the Web in ever-increasing numbers. “The state encourages research into Internet products that help minors surf the Web in a healthy manner,” the statement said. Requests for additional explanation have gone unanswered.

Not surprisingly, the news of the new mandatory software requirement has generated considerable protest inside and outside of China.

Online Petition

According to The Wall Street Journal, an online petition was launched at midnight on Thursday to protest Green Dam. Although the number of signers is small (just more than a thousand in a nation with more than a billion residents), the comments are openly critical of the government’s policy. At least one protester referenced the specter of Big Brother by writing, “I don’t want to live in 1984.”

While the ostensible purpose of the filtering requirement is to protect children from pornography and violent material (in fairness, similar steps have been proposed in the United States), researchers have discovered that politically sensitive terms are blocked as well.

For instance, efforts to connect to sites about the meditation technique Falun Gong trigger a pop-up message that declares the site harmful and then shuts down the browser. Similar shutdowns occur in response to other phrases deemed subversive by the Chinese government.

Other researchers report that similar shutdowns occur when sensitive terms are typed into various Microsoft software products, including Word, Notepad and MSN’s instant messaging. That implies a degree of keystroke monitoring that may be unprecedented for a central government.

Vulnerabilities, or Backdoors?

Of greater concern to…

In some cases, the older a thing is the more precious it becomes. And places of antiquity arguably do not either fall short of this fact. Here are some of oldest inhabited regions in the world bearing a variety of precious imprints of the thousand dead years.

Byblos Lebanon

Believed to have been founded in 5000 B.C., Byblos, Lebanon is generally considered by historians as the oldest inhabited city in the world. It held a couple of names, and was once known as Gibelet during the crusade; today it is known in Arabic name as the city of Jbeil. A Mediterranean city of the Mount Lebanon Governorate of the preset day Lebanon, a biblical region itself, Byblos existence dates back to the biblical era as it is mentioned in the Holy Bible in 1 Kings 5:18. The verse refers to the nationality of the builders of the temple of Solomon. Ezekiel 27:9 also made mention of this city, referring to the riches of Tyre.

Cadiz, Spain

Characterized by the antiquity of its quarters, among them El Popula, La Vina, and Santa Maria, historians considered Cadiz as the oldest continuously – inhabited city in the Iberian Peninsula if not of all Southwestern Europe. It has been one of the principal home ports of the Spanish Navy since the accession of the Spanish Bourbon in the 18th century. Over time, Cadiz has evolved into becoming a city of modern standard, but it still holds a host of one of the richest, well-preserved historical remnants in the world that are gathered in designated region called the Old City. Notwithstanding, the modern city hosts numerous parks bearing kinds of exotic plants whose arrival in Spain is believed to be brought by Columbus.

Kavala, Greece

Time flashbacked many centuries, Kavala was founded by the early settlers from Thasos in the 16th century. This ancient city was for once a base of Brutus and Casius in 42 BC for it became a base of the Roman civita is 164 BC. On his first voyage to Europe, the apostle Paul had landed in Kavala. Subsequently, in the Byzantine era, the city was called Christoupolis by the Greeks and Morunets by the Bulgarians, and because of its maritime location, the region flourished but was captured and burned during the 1185 Norman raid of Macedonia. A couple of centuries later, the Ottoman took over and under the leadership of Sultan Bayesid I, the city was completely destroyed, forcing the inhabitants to flee. Rebuilt was only started at the beginning of the 15th century, and during which time the city started to be known as Karvala. Historical remnants of the Ottoman reconstruction have become landmarks of modern Karvala, the largest city in modern Greece and the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia.

Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich as we might all know is one of the most famous cities in modern day Europe. It is the cultural and commercial capital of Switzerland, Bern being the political capital of the country. Historically, the magnificent Zurich ranks among the oldest and still inhabited cities in the world; Turicum was the name it was known in the earliest times as evidenced by a tombstone that dates back to the 2nd century AD. Lake dwellers were believed to be the first inhabitants of the future site of Zurich and this lake side settlement dates back to the Neolithic period.

Damascus, Syria

Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. Archeological excavations at the outskirts of the city at the Tell Ramad have shown that Damascus have been inhabited as far as 8,000 B.C. to 10,000 B.C., qualifying Damascus as one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world. It was not as important with the rest of the old cities in the world however, until the advent of the nomadic tribe from Mesopotamia – the Arameans. They were known to build canals and tunnels to maximize the efficiency of the Barada River. This network of engineering structures was subsequently improved by the Romans and the Umayyads whose water system still forms the basis of the old part of Damascus today. Damascus, an antiquarian city as it is, is mentioned in Genesis 14 as existing during the war of the kings.

Athens, Greece

Athens being ranked as one of the oldest cities in the world has been continuously inhabited for at least 4,500 years. The reign of the classical era are made evident and famous by the presence of ancient monuments and works of art, famous of which being the Parthenon on the Acropolis which is considered a major landmark of early Western civilization. Further, modern Athens still holds rich and great kinds of sculptural works of art of the Roman and Byzantine. Ottoman monuments are well present in this ancient city, indicating Athens’s great history across the ages. Aristotle, Socrates, Plato and other great Greek thinkers, writers, artists, and philosophers lived and walked Athens many centuries before Christ. So, there’s no denying that Athens is the birthplace of our democracy, modern sciences, philosophy and almost any other arena of human intellectual pursuit.

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut is the largest and capital city of Lebanon. Having its history that dates back to 5000 years , makes Beirut one of the oldest cities in the world. This claim is well supported by archaeological facts unearthed in the down town area, showing layers of Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Ottoman and Arab remains. In addition, Beirut is mentioned in the cuneiform tablets of the “Armand Letters”, which is believed to have been existing since the 4th century. Today, Beirut is fastly becoming progressive as it is home of the largest seaports of the eastern Mediterranean Sea while its tourism is as well becoming popular the world over.

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. As shown by numerous archaeological and historical records, Lisbon certainly ranks among the oldest inhabited regions in the world. For one, this ancient region was once inhabited by Iberian-related people. Religious monuments called, dolmens, Megaliths and menhirs are some of the existing testaments of the Iberian settlement. For another, Phoenician influence is thought to have existed in the region as suggested by archaeological findings, dating back to 1200 BC. Prominently, Phoenician remains were found recently underneath the Mediaeval Se Lisboa or main cathedral of the modern city. However, many historians maintained doubts with regards to the historical truth of Phoenician settlement; instead they believe that ancient Lisbon was just one of the major and active regions of trading in which Phoenicians had had good commercial relations; thus the archaeological remains of pottery and other material objects found beneath the cathedral.

Beijing, China

Beijing or Peking is the capital city of the People’s Republic of China, and for the record it ranks among the oldest inhabited regions in the world. Human habitation were found to be dating back to 230,000 to 250,000 years ago, as shown through carbon dating performed on the archaeological remains of the now famous Peking Man (Homo Erectus) whose remains were excavated in the caves of Dragon Bone Hill in the village of Zhoukoudian in Fangshan District. 27,000 years ago, Paleolithic Homo sapiens also lived in the region.

Less than a week after Palm and Sprint Nextel announced an exclusive partnership to sell the eagerly awaited Pre smartphone, a second carrier, Verizon Wireless, claimed that it, too, will begin selling the device in the US.

Apparently, Verizon will begin selling the Pre as soon as Sprint’s exclusivity deal with Palm expires, an unnamed source supposedly familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal.

The source said Verizon plans to begin selling the Palm Pre, which has multi-touch capabilities, calendars synced in one place, cached contacts, a slide-out keyboard and the new webOS operating system, in January of 2010.

Both Palm and Verizon, however, are remaining tight-lipped about the release date, denying that a date was set for the Palm Pre to be sold by Verizon Wireless.

Just a Hint

In an apparent hint, Verizon Wireless CEO, Lowell McAdam said, “Over the next six months or so, you see devices like the Palm Pre [being sold by Verizon].”

Asked directly about Verizon’s upcoming pricing for the Pre, company spokesperson Brenda Raney declined to give specifics, only saying that “it is premature to discuss pricing of a phone that isn’t currently in our portfolio.”

“Sprint’s exclusivity on the Pre is for an extended period of time,” said Sprint spokesperson Mark Ellioot. “We have not been more specific, but it is longer than six months,” he added, casting doubt on the statement by Wall Street Journal’s source.

Breaking Records

It is not clear whether eager Verizon Wireless customers will be willing to wait for the January release of the Pre or if they plan to become Sprint customers to acquire the Pre sooner. However, it seems that by late Sunday the Palm Pre had broken previous sales records for both first day sales, as well as first weekend sales for any Sprint device. Although Sprint…

A British sculptor has bought U.S. President Barack Obama down to size. Talented Willard Wigan has carved Mr Obama and his family into the eye of a 24-karat gold needle. Speaking in Los Angeles, as he was about to launch his first American exhibition, Willard revealed: “My favourite piece has to be President Barack Obama and his family.”

First family: A micro-sculpture of the Obamas, carved into the eye of a 24-karat gold needle by British artist Willard Wigan

Mr Wigan used images of the First Family from the night Mr Obama was elected president to create his tiny masterpiece

“I never thought I would see a black President in my life time, so this is historic and I wanted to celebrate that.”

The micro-sculptor’s work is so small, you need a microscope to see it – it is invisible to the naked eye. But Willard creates it all by hand in an astonishing process. It takes him up to three months to create each amazing and unique sculpture, which usually sits within in the eye of a needle or on a pin head.

The personal sacrifice involved in creating pieces is almost inconceivable. Willard enters a meditative state in which his heartbeat is slowed, allowing him to reduce hand tremors and sculpt between pulse beats. Even the reverberation caused by traffic outside can affect Willard’s work, so he often works through the night when there is minimal disruption.

In the past he has created micro-sculptures of such stars as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, P Diddy. Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and even The Simpsons. But it the President Obama sculpture he is most proud of, spend more than three months creating it especially for his U.S. tour.

“I think the Obama sculpture is my favourite of all time as it’s the most significant piece that I have ever done.”

“Other sculptures were harder to do – like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, which has such amazing detail, like the mouse in the teapot, plates on the table and even Alice with her headband.”

“And that’s all smaller than a full stop.”

However, he admits he has had some mishaps in the past.

Mr Wigan has also created mini Nelson Mandela

Mini Incredible Hulk, bursting out of the eye of his needle

“I have had some real nightmares – I once inhaled my own work by mistake!”

“I was making a sculpture of five ballerinas floating on a particle of dust. I was sculpting them from a single fibre, like the fibre that comes from your sweater.”

“I was inserting the ballerinas into the eye of a needle and my mobile phone went off.”

“I breathed in by mistake as I was thinking: ‘I wonder who that is,’ and wasn’t paying the attention I should’ve been.”

Celebrities aren’t the only sculptures Mr Wigan does – as shown by this sculpture of nine miniscule camels

“It so easy to be distracted, which is also why I work at night so that I don’t get the vibrations or distractions from traffic.”

“But the phone rang, I breathed in without thinking, looked back at the eye of the needle and realised I had inhaled them.”

“It was a very tense moment and I was very upset with myself but there wasn’t much I could do.”

“I’ve been meaning to start that sculpture over again but I haven’t got round to it yet.”

The smallest Oscar statue ever – also by Mr Wigan

He said he has always wanted to show his work in America.

“They love things bigger and better in the U.S. so what better way to show off my smallest but biggest artwork! I think people are going to be quite surprised when they see what I do.”

“I am exhibiting 20 pieces in the U.S. including Ben Hur with his chariot on a pin head, Nelson Mandela through the eye of a needle and the Statue of Liberty through the eye of a needle.”

“I’ve also bought with me P Diddy, Minnie Mouse, Charlie Chaplin and even a recreation of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland.”

Willard’s work has been described as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’. He started off his career at the tender age of five – when he would make houses for ants.

“I thought they needed somewhere to live,” he explained.

“Then I made them shoes and hats. It was a fantasy world I escaped to where my dyslexia didn’t hold me back and my teachers couldn’t criticise me.”

In the past he has specifically commissioned works includes the replica of the iconic Lloyds of London Building. Willard, who is from Birmingham, was subsequently honoured with receiving an MBE from HRH Prince Charles for his services to art.

His previous celebrity customers include former boxer Mike Tyson and eccentric toff Lord Bath. Last year he sold 72 pieces to gym millionaire David Lloyd for £11.2million. His exhibition and tour of the U.S. begins this week and runs in Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston through to November.