This week in Technology: Chinese hacker attacks, secondhand games, Apple on Intel and so much more

• Smash and grab, the hi-tech wayLast year, parliament nearly fell victim to a sophisticated hacking fraud - that security services believe came from China, says Pete Warren • Fraud nags at Google strategyThe threat of click fraud threatens the search giant's plans for the future. Charles Miller explains • Publishers fret over 'pre-sold' boomGames publishers say the thriving secondhand market puts the development of innovative genres at risk. Does it? Mike Anderiesz reports. • It's racist, it's sexist, it's virtual: welcome to Azeroth!Reality is leaking unpleasantly into World of Warcraft's online community of five million, writes Aleks Krotoski • Intel link will offer Apple Windows of opportunityJack Schofield: With the launch of Apple Macintoshes based on Intel processors, will we be able to run Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X on the same machine? • Regulations strangle energy innovationFuel-cell technology will be the next big thing to power consumer devices, but it needs to clear a few hurdles, explains Danny Bradbury • TechnobileCharles Arthur: Another document to write, another chance to play font roulette with Microsoft Word •

US games market ups and downs

Sales of Sony PlayStation Portables and Nintendo DS handhelds saved the US games market last year, pushing total game industry sales (not including PC games) up 6% to a record high $10.5 billion, according to NPD Research. However, console sales were down 3% by value, while console game sales fell 12% by value, according to a Reuters story.

Microsoft Points — the new Xbox currency

Microsoft has launched a new global currency to replace $US dollars on the Microsoft Live service. Microsoft Points are "the new coin of the Xbox Live Marketplace realm. Microsoft Points is a new universal system that works across international borders and is even available if you don't have a credit card," says the site.

IBM exposes Xbox processor

IBM has been showing off the Xbox processor at the Fall Processor Forum being held now in San Jose, California (Oct. 25-26). And according to various reports, some interesting things have emerged. First, there's a second source -- Chartered Semiconductor -- which has been involved with the CPU development, and is now manufacturing chips. Second, according to Business Week's story, Inside IBM's Xbox Chip: "Microsoft will own the rights to the chip, says IBM Vice-President James Comfort."

India vies for share of videogame market

"Rajesh Rao, a 34-year-old businessman, spends a good part of his workday playing video games on his mobile phone. He also insists his new employees spend their first few weeks doing the same. He's not a flippant amateur refusing to grow out of his childhood. Instead he's part of a small breed of entrepreneurs trying to make India the world's studio for developing games on mobile phones, computers and consoles," reports AP.

eBay may buy Skype for $2-$3 billion

"EBay Inc is in talks to acquire Internet-telephony company Skype Technologies SA for $2 billion to $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that would represent a dramatic shift in strategy for the world's largest online auction site," reports The Wall Street Journal [paid subscription required].

Gates considering Xbox clones?

"In an interview with Nikkei Newspaper in Tokyo, Gates was asked whether Microsoft would consider opening the manufacture of Xbox units to third parties. Gates responded that "there is nothing concrete" but said the company is always talking with partners about how to expand the Xbox culture," reports CNet.

Kutaragi off the board at Sony

One of the by-products of the Sony reshuffle (below) is that Ken Kutaragi, the "father of the PlayStation", lost his seat on the Sony board. This is a bit of a shocker because Sony has been kept afloat mainly by the PlayStation's huge success, and because Kutaragi's strong opinions have given him a high profile in the press. Indeed, as this Reuters story notes, he was "once regarded as certain to succeed current CEO Nobuyuki Idei", not be upstaged by Sir Howard Stringer.

Sony boss admits strategic mistakes

"Sony missed out on potential sales from MP3 players and other gadgets because it was overly proprietary about music and entertainment content, the head of Sony's video-game unit acknowledged Thursday," reports AP.

Fans throng for first shot at Halo 2 game

"It takes a special kind of person to stay up all night and stand in a line nearly 250 people long just to buy a video game -- but for rabid fans of the first Halo on the Xbox video game console, it was well worth the wait to buy the new Halo 2," reports Reuters from Los Angeles.

Are you talking to a lie-detector?

"The several available applications of the technology work on the same basic principle: that the human voice contains telltale signals that betray a speaker's emotional state, like the intent to deceive. By analyzing small, often inaudible changes in the voice and visually displaying them on a computer screen, the techniques are thought to recognize not only veracity, but also a gamut of emotions ranging from anxiety to arousal," reports The New York Tmes.