SAN FRANCISCO - GOOGLE co-founder Larry Page is building an eco-mansion in Palo Alto, the original Silicon Valley powerhouse town, the local weekly said on Friday.

Mr Page's green-certified home should be 6,000 square feet (557 sq m), hardly modest for most folks, but only a bit over half the size that he could build on the lot, according to Palo Alto Online, the website for Palo Alto Weekly, which uncovered the plans.

WASHINGTON - PING pong diplomacy helped thaw US-China relations and YouTube diplomacy may do the same for US ties with Iran.

President Barack Obama, whose use of the Web helped catapult him into the White House, turned to the Internet again to launch the first major diplomatic initiative of his young presidency.

LONDON - US SOFTWARE giant Google said on Friday it had removed several images from its Street View software, which allows Web surfers to view parts of 25 British cities, after users raised privacy concerns.

Street View displays 360-degree ground-level images captured by roaming cars using digital photography equipment.