italy

MEMC Electronic Materials subsidiary SunEdison announced Thursday it has received final approval from the Italian government to build a 72-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant.

The solar services company has found a home for its plant just outside Rovigo, Italy, a city roughly halfway between Bologna and Venice. The choice is not surprising given the community's many progressive green policies and initiatives already in progress.

Rovigo's motto is "the city of change" and it's a member of CLEAR (City and Local Environmental Accounting Reporting), an EU project in which member towns and cities pledge environmental accounting … Read more

Will an Italian court's decision to convict three Google executives of invasion of privacy have widespread effects on the Internet beyond Italian borders?

Google certainly thinks so, but it could take a significant change in thinking around the globe to prove Italy is not an outlier. Three Google executives, including head lawyer David Drummond and Chief Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer, were convicted of invasion of privacy Wednesday by a court in Milan because a video of students taunting an autistic boy was uploaded to Google Video in 2006. George Reyes, who was chief financial officer but left the company … Read more

Talk about a sentence custom-designed to send a chat room off the rails. But the actual topic of discussion was the massive insecurity of the global GPS network, which is totally susceptible to sat-nav jamming. Also, Apple continues to suffer under its terrible, self-imposed burden of censorship, and we are ALL GOING TO DIE FROM THE INTERNET! --Molly

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Google under investigation for alleged breach of EU competitionrules http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7301299/Google-under-investigation-for-alleged-breach-of-EU-competition-rules.html

Google bosses convicted … Read more

In the second hit of a one-two punch in Europe, an Italian court handed out guilty verdicts on Wednesday for three of four Google employees charged in a case concerning a 2006 Google Video clip posted of a teenager with autism.

The judge in the case, Oscar Magi, gave suspended six-month jail sentences for privacy invasion to David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer; Peter Fleischer, Google's chief privacy counsel; and George Reyes, Google's former chief financial officer. They weren't convicted on defamation charges, though, and a fourth Google employee, Arvind Desikan, was cleared of all charges, … Read more

Italians love soccer. Despite the fact that the country does occasionally win the World Cup, however, the Italian brand of soccer is more venal than Ben Kingsley in "Sexy Beast."

The teams intimidate, they're negative, they will stoop to violence, and they're infinitely less interesting to watch than Joaquin Phoenix on the "Late Show with David Letterman."

I mention this because I understand that the Italian love of soccer, even virtual soccer, has led to a domestic dispute of stunningly negative proportions.

According to Reuters, a 16-year-old boy identified as Mario R was merrily engrossed in a game of FIFA 2009 on his PlayStation when his dad decided to offer a little advice.

The story doesn't recount whether Dad suggested the son play another two men across the back (a very Italian suggestion) or whether he merely figured that Mario's team needed to get a one goal lead and then cease to play soccer altogether--another very Italian characteristic.

Mario was not impressed with Dad's tactics. Perhaps he expressed himself forcefully. For Dad's reaction was to turn off the TV.

Mario seems to have felt this was provocation beyond the limits of filial loyalty. This was provocation not unlike Italian defender Marco Materazzi offering allegedly disgraceful slurs that caused France's Zinedine Zidane to lose his head--into Materazzi's chest--during the 2006 World Cup Final.

Mario reportedly wandered into the kitchen, grabbed a 15-inch knife, and stabbed his dad in the neck. He then supposedly wandered back into the kitchen, washed the knife, as his mom looked on, still unknowing, and put it down to dry.… Read more

An Italian decree that would require the vetting of videos with sexual or violent content could take effect as soon as February 4, according to reports.

The government decree, which affects sites such as Google's YouTube, would also require sites that regularly upload videos to obtain a license to operate in Italy, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Companies and organizations, including Google, telecommunications providers, and press watchdog groups, are seeking changes in the proposed decree. They assert that it would hurt freedom of expression and be extremely difficult to enforce and monitor.

The draft decree "poses yet another … Read more

Italian regulators have expanded their investigation of Google News to include the company's search engine in that country, according to reports.

IDG News Service reported Friday that Italy's Antitrust Authority wants to now take a closer look at Google's overall operation, a week after it followed up on complaints from news publishers that Google was excluding them from search results unless they agreed to be in Google News. Google denies the charges.

Google's 90 percent search share of the Italian market is apparently causing regulators to wonder whether Google is having a disproportionate effect on online … Read more

Andrew Frankel, an Autocar reviewer, attempts the mind-numbing feat of driving 200 mph in a Bentley GTC--with top down. Watch the action unfold in this video from the Nardo Technical Center in Italy.

Wilson Tang is back in the house today, along with the lovely and ever-gracious Natali Del Conte. She's just come back from her vacation, and we find out how she stalked Tom Hanks from the film "Angels & Demons" (check out her Loaded piece this Thursday). And Justin disappears from his first ever hate-on during the show.

On today's show, we've got Wilson Tang backers calling to defend the man. Lots of e-mails as well from supporters, who think finding out Tyler Perry is in a movie is about as much of a non-spoiler as you can get. But if you really want spoilers, check out Wilson's lastest Tumblr post, where he finds many faults in the new "Star Trek."

In more stories from the Interwebs, Craigslist has finally acquiesced to state attorneys general, who wanted the erotic service section taken down. Now, a new section will appear, which will be moderated by Craigslist employees. We think it's too bad that all it took was one bad apple to ruin it for everyone. Now, Jeff has to find a new side job.

Speaking of bad apples, Microsoft has been running these "Laptop Hunter" ads on television, and Apple comes back with its own "Megan" ad. We just think it's hilarious that these customers end up buying a 10-pound monster with a 22-inch screen. Wilson thinks it's even funnier that a "filmmaker" would buy a PC to edit her film on. What's she going to use? Windows Movie Maker? Come on, if you can afford Avid, the price difference between a Mac and a PC is trivial.

Natali's best contribution to the show today is that she says the words "penis phone" on air and teaches us the Spanish slang for "schlong." Apparently, Venezuela's leftist president Hugo Chavez is releasing a government-subsidized cell phone named after a certain male body part. It's because of the vibration function we suspect.

Finally, "404" shows up in some of the most random places. Check this out. It's a demolished building with a 404 sign. Be sure to send in your favorite 404 signs around the world at the404 (at) cnet (dot) com. Or drop us a voice mail with more Wilson love at 1-866-404-CNET (2638).