More than 4 billion of the 6 billion people on earth now have a cell phone, with a quarter of those owners getting one in just the last two years. And many are using them, in a giant global experiment, to change the way life is lived, from Manhattan to Ouagadougou.

The office of 84-year-old Queen Elizabeth II announced on Sunday that she is launching her own page on Facebook. The page will feature videos, photos and news updates about the long-serving British monarch. Facebook users will be able send messages to Buckingham Palace, and leave comments on the Queen's pages...

A senior Iranian cleric, Grand Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani, has discussed religious issues with his supporters on Facebook and Google Talk. A statement posted on the website of Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani, who has come under pressure from the Iranian authorities over his postelection stances, says the "unprecedented" online discussion took place on November 4 with a number of Internet users inside and outside of Iran.

Today China’s projection of “soft power” involves a $7 billion international radio and TV broadcasting campaign. In funding, languages reached, frequencies used, and hours on the air, it already outpaces the two other major international broadcasters: Voice of America (VOA) and the BBC World Service.

Alarge part of a diplomat's role and mission is to reach out to and engage with the citizens of his or her host country. Traditionally, this has involved cultural events, receptions and business exchanges. But with the advent of Web 2.0, an increasing number of diplomats are turning to the Internet and social media...

Last Friday, an official accompanying President Aquino in his state visit to Vietnam was criticized for comments posted on Twitter. Carmen Mislang, who holds the rank of assistant secretary in the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, tweeted that the wine served at a dinner hosted by Vietnam "sucks"...

It was shot on a cheap camera by a man who goes by the pseudonym Kim Dong-cheol, a North Korean with a double life. In addition to his job as a driver for a company, Kim also works as a clandestine reporter for AsiaPress, a Japanese news agency that's taken advantage of the digital electronics revolution to get reports from inside North Korea.

A private telecom firm took high speed Internet facilities to the top of the world on Thursday when it launched Nepal's first 3G services at the base camp of Mount Everest. The installation could help the tens of thousands of mountain climbers and trekkers who visit the Mount Everest region in the Solukhumbu district every year.