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Google, which last month failed to grab a huge portfolio of Nortel patents, has bought more than 1,000 patents from IBM.

The new purchase boosts Google's intellectual property portfolio which currently has just 700 patents.

The loss of Nortel patents was a big blow to Google as the search engine was willing to pay anyprice to beef up its bank of patents - which is the smallest among major wireless players.

Since Nortel-patented technology is also used in Google Android smart phones, the Apple-led consortium have not only got the rights to licence this technology to secure royalties but also gain market influence vis-a-vis Google in the multi-trillion-dollar technology field.

As Google is involved in more than 45 patent lawsuits - the biggest against any major player -it is consolidating its patent bank to avoid future litigations.

Google has refused to confirm the price it has paid for IBM patents.

"Like many tech companies, at times we'll acquire patents that are relevant to our business needs. Bad software patent litigation is a wasteful war that no one will win," a Google spokesperson was quoted as saying by the LA Times Friday.

Google' popular Android smart phone operating system is the target of legal challenges. Oracle is seeking billions in damages from Google claiming that Android infringes its Java patents.

Facing so many patent-related lawsuits, Google has urged the US Federal Trade Commission to curb this practice.

"Like many tech companies, at times we'll acquire patents that are relevant to our business needs. Bad software patent litigation is a wasteful war that no one will win," the Google spokesperson was quoted a saying.

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Twitter said that it will begin placing advertisements known as "Promoted Tweets" in the timelines of users who follow a particular brand or company.

Twitter said it will begin testing the new advertising offering with a number of companies including Dell, Gatorade, Groupon, JetBlue, LivingSocial, Microsoft, Red Bull, Starbucks and Virgin America.

Promoted Tweets from non-profits such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the American Red Cross will also be shown, the San Francisco-based Twitter said in a blog post.

"When we decide to follow a favorite brand, business or charitable organization, we expect to be among the first to get a special announcement, access to exclusive content or a great offer," Twitter said.

"That's why starting today, we're introducing a way to ensure that the most important tweets from the organizations you follow reach you directly," it said.

Twitter has enjoyed explosive growth since it was founded in 2006 but it is unclear how successful it has been in translating its popularity into profit.

Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo, speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado, last week declined to reveal whether the privately held company is profitable.

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Microsoft will ask Hotmail users, who have chosen common passwords, to change them as part of an effort to increase the security of its popular webmail service.
The firm will ban the use of passwords such as "123456" and "ilovecats", which can be easily cracked by malicious hackers using trial-and-error techniques.

"This new feature will be rolling out soon, and will prevent you from choosing a very common password when you sign up for an account or when you change your password," the Telegraph quoted Dick Craddock, Microsoft's group program manager for Hotmail, as saying.

"If you're already using a common password, you may, at some point in the future, be asked to change it to a stronger password," he stated.

Apart from tightening its rules on passwords, Microsoft has implemented a feature in Hotmail to allow users to report when a friend's account appears to have been hacked by spammers.

Incoming emails can now be flagged as "My friend's been hacked!" which alerts Hotmail's security systems to a potential breach.

The user whose account sent the email is also asked to change their password so the spammers cannot gain access again.

The firm said alerts would also be shared with Google and Yahoo! when a Hotmail user receives spam from a friend's Gmail or Yahoo! Mail account.
--ANI