Gadget makers showed off their green credentials at a technology show in London on Friday to try to tempt consumers worried about soaring fuel bills, climate change and the financial crisis.

A "Star Wars" inspired hover chair, a 125 mph electric motorbike and hi-fi speakers that cost as much as a small house are among the attractions at Britain's biggest gadget show in London this weekend.

More and more shoppers are willing to spend on gadgets with a touchscreen - even if it means they lose on extra features and better quality.

Microsoft Corp is betting its next Windows operating system will be faster and easier to use and avoid the missteps from the introduction of Windows Vista, which alienated many users of the software that powers 90 percent of the world's PCs.

Five centuries after Leonardo da Vinci's intricate drawings transformed understanding of the human heart, a new computer model promises to do the same for modern-day cardiac care, experts say.

Apple on Tuesday cut the price on its entry-level notebook computer to $999 (572 pounds) and introduced a line of aluminium-clad machines starting at $1,299 in moves catering to budget-minded buyers at a time when recession fears loom over the global economy.

Apple Inc is expected to unveil new laptop computers next week, issuing invitations on Thursday to an October 14 event that say "The Spotlight turns to notebooks."

Apple has swept the board at Britain's T3 technology magazine's annual awards, winning four top prizes, including gadget of the year for its iPod Touch.

DVD rental company Netflix on Wednesday said it will begin adding $1 (57 pence) to monthly membership fees to provide unlimited access to high-definition Blu-ray movies.

The private sector should pay for a new super-fast broadband network seen by ministers as crucial to the economy, a review for the government said on Friday.

Shares in publishing company Informa fell 8.7 percent in early trade on Friday after it rejected a reduced takeover offer from a private equity consortium.

Private equity firm Blackstone has joined a consortium bidding for Informa, but an industry source said the group was no longer prepared to pay its original price for the British publishing firm.

Newspaper and communications group Independent News & Media posted a drop in first-half earnings as expected on Wednesday and said full-year profit should meet consensus forecasts for a slight fall.

Regional newspaper group Johnston Press missed market expectations for first-half sales as advertising revenues dropped 10 percent but beat profit forecasts thanks to cost discipline it said it would maintain.

Market research group Taylor Nelson Sofres again rebuffed a 1.1 billion-pound hostile bid from WPP after preferred suitor GfK dropped its takeover attempt on Wednesday.

Advertising group WPP's like-for-like sales grew 4.3 percent in the first half thanks to strong growth in emerging economies, beating market forecasts, and the company raised its interim dividend by 20 percent.

ITV, Britain's biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, said its net advertising revenues (NAR) were flat in the first eight months compared with a fall of about 1 percent in the market and cut some mid-term targets in light of economic uncertainty.

Media watchdog Ofcom fined the BBC 400,000 pounds on Wednesday, the largest financial penalty it has ever issued against the public broadcaster, for misleading the public through fake quizzes and competitions.

Pearson Plc said on Monday that its sales had risen 14 per cent to £1.965 billion in the first half of the year. The publishing firm said that its operating profit also increased 38 per cent to £124 million in the period.