Fight is on for better broadband

By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter, BBC News

Would you live in a house without broadband?

While some have welcomed the government's pledge to provide a minimum broadband speed of 2Mbps to every home in the UK by 2012 others think it will be an extremely challenging task, and insufficient to meet future needs.

The government has defended itself saying that the 2Mbps speed is just a baseline and will form just one strand of its broadband strategy going forward.

It has its work cut out to get the UK up to speed. Ofcom estimates that some 15% of UK homes currently cannot get broadband speeds above 2Mbps while 1% are unable to get any form of broadband.

Broadband is currently defined by international bodies such as the OECD as anything above speeds of 512 kilobits (half a meg) but the UK government acknowledges believes that should now be 2Mbps.

Notspots are by no means confined to rural areas. Areas such as Leicester Forest East and Kirby Muxloe, suburbs of Leicester suffer slow speeds because their telephone lines have to go around the M1. The further away homes are from the telephone exchange the slower the speed will be.

There are properties near London City Airport known for slow broadband because of the distance the cable has to go around the Albert Dock.

Uploading art

Ewhurst residents struggle to get a decent broadband connection

Ewhurst in Surrey is typical of many villages in the UK. Lying just a few miles outside of Guildford, it is prime commuter belt and not the type of area one would imagine to be struggling with broadband speeds.

But of the 1,000 properties in the village only a handful can get speeds above 2Mbps.

Outlying properties, including two private schools, cannot get any form of fixed line broadband. This is despite lying close to a 100Mb fibre pipe.

Watercolourist Alexander Creswell works from home and relies on a decent broadband connection.

"I'm a self employed artist and I upload and download a lot of art but I am at the very end of Ewhurst where the greatest problems lie and the service is just not reliable," he said.

"We are here in the Home Counties, just 26 miles from Hyde Park Corner as the crow flies, and yet people get better broadband in Scotland and Cornwall." he said.

His three children attend the Duke of Kent school down the road.

"That doesn't have any broadband at all. How on earth a school can offer 21st century education on dial-up I don't know," he said.

Neighbour Bill Bruford is better known for making a noise in the world of music. But the world-renowned drummer with bands such as Yes and King Crimson, is ready to start shouting about broadband.

As a self-employed musician, he is less than impressed with the speed of his service - about a third of a meg on a good day.

"It is terrible. Absolute torture. What can you do in life with a third of a meg?" he asked.

He is unimpressed with the current definition of broadband, believing that half a meg would offer little improvement to people like him who rely on web access for work.

"I could probably just about live with two megabits. I am trying to earn a living via the computer, in contact with customers, running a couple of bands, sending music around, and I'm competing with others with much faster services," he said.

Down the road neighbour Jean Crouch is still struggling on a dial-up connection.

"The main factor is that it is totally frustrating. You have to have an awful lot of patience and resign yourself to the fact that you may be sitting there for an hour just to find something out," she said.

"Ten years ago it didn't seem to matter but now I can't even send e-mail because I can't get the photos through. I might occasionally complete a transaction online but often I end up using the phone," she said.

Semi-retired communications engineer Walter Willcox has been lobbying on behalf of Ewhurst residents to improve coverage in the area. So far he has 122 people signed up to his campaign to find better broadband for the village.

Mr Willcox himself lives a few miles down the road and enjoys a 9Mbps connection, courtesy of Virgin Media.

As well as being just out of reach of Virgin Media's fat pipes, Ewhurst is also neighbours with the Mullard Space Laboratory, which is served by a high capacity fibre cable offering speeds of 100Mbp.

Dr Paul Lamb, head of the computing group at the lab has plenty of sympathy for the residents but can't offer a lot of practical help

"We do want to be good neighbours but we just don't have the resources to provide this to the public. We are also bound by the academic network JANET and offering it to third parties would break our licensing agreement," he said.

Next stage

What will deliver next-generation broadband?

The proximity of prime fibre is not just restricted to Ewhurst. Fibre is likely to be just around the corner from a lot of people who are struggling with their own broadband connections, said Andrew Ferguson, editor of ThinkBroadband.

"In reality most of us are just a mile or two from some fibre, the problem is who owns it and how much they will charge aside from the issues of tapping into it," he said.

It is unlikely that fibre will be the solution for the majority of villages and even towns due to the expense of laying it.

Virgin Media covers 50% of the UK and is being upgraded to support speeds of up to 50Mbps. The firm has also recently announced that it will be adding half a million homes to its existing network, with 50,000 coming online this year.

BT is moving ahead with its fibre plans, offering so-called fibre to the cabinet technology to around 40% of homes by 2012.

Economically viable

Mr Willcox has been waging his own battle with Openreach, the BT spinoff that will provide the fibre technology to street cabinets.

He first wrote to OpenReach in April 2007, asking for an upgrade to the telephone cables which serve Ewhurst villagers. Openreach told him that it could not do the work because it would cost "in excess of £85,000".

In January of this year, Mr Willcox offered that residents could contribute to the costs of upgrade but so far BT has not given him a quote for so-called fibre to the cabinet technology.

"Openreach will only talk to providers and not local communities," said Mr Willcox.

Openreach's managing director of policy Amy Chalfen told the BBC it was more than willing to talk to community groups.

"We regularly engage with local councils and parish groups. We recognise that we play a big part in people's communities," she said.

It has been estimated that if BT spent £5.5bn it could bring the whole UK up to at least 2Mb speed using its fibre to the cabinet technology.

Ms Chalfen said the solution for communities such as Ewhurst should not fall solely on BT's shoulders.

"We expect to play our part alongside everyone else to fulfill the 2Mb universal service obligation but we are not the only solution. There are mobile options and Virgin could extend its network," she said.

In the end whether villages such as Ewhurst will get faster speeds will be down to economics.

"Even with public funding there will be some places where it just isn't economically viable," said Ms Chalfen.

Sticking plaster

It is unclear whether Lord Carter will make any funding available for broadband upgrades but he is likely to suggest a combination of technologies, including mobile broadband and satellite to fill the gaps.

Not everyone is convinced they are the real solution.

"There is a real danger that the 2Mb Universal Service Obligation will simply act as a sticking plaster, and need replacing every few years," said Andrew Ferguson, editor of broadband website ThinkBroadband.

"Surely it would be much better to adopt a programme of work that had a clear path towards a true next generation solution which pretty much all accept will be fibre to the premises," he added.

Ian Fogg, analyst with Forrester, agreed.

"I don't think that 2 megabits will be a long-lasting benchmark for broadband. It won't be future-proofed and we will need to change it again in five year's time," said Ian Fogg, an analyst with Jupiter Research.

Whatever technology and speed is adopted in the UK there will be homes left behind and people will start voting with their feet he thinks.

"Living in the countryside has its upsides but it also has it downsides such as the nearest hospital or post office being a long way away. And homes there may have very poor broadband speed," said Ian Fogg, an analyst with Jupiter Research.

"We will start taking this into account when we decide to move house," he said.

For those determined not to miss out on the next generation of broadband the only option will be to upgrade not their network but their house.

Source: BBC news

Microsoft promises 'search 2.0'

By Darren Waters Technology editor, BBC News website

Microsoft Live Search is changing

Microsoft is re-launching its search engine, promising to make search simpler, and aiming to overhaul Yahoo.

Re-named and re-branded Bing.com, the search engine will go live first in the US and launch in beta elsewhere.

Google has more than 64% of the search market in the US, followed by Yahoo at 20% and Microsoft at 8.2%.

Bing offers to make search more relevant by understanding the intention of searches, and grouping more related information to the original query.

For example, searches for a product will also bring links to reviews, accessories, and online shops, as well as information about the item.

Searches for flight information will pull schedules and times from websites, as well as linking to hotels and weather.

Microsoft wants to reduce the amount of clicking a user has to do to find specific and related information.

Paul Stoddart, Microsoft UK search lead, "Forty percent of search queries go unanswered. There is something missing here and a big consumer need."

Google haven't been able to innovate a lot of the UI Paul Stoddart, Microsoft

He added: "We can see it in the logs [of searches]. When searching using existing search engines I have to keep re-querying things - adding more words, clicking on a site, going back because it is not the right site, and ultimately abandoning their queries."

He added: "We are pulling information that we know people use every day."

He said Microsoft was hoping to build an "emotional connection" between users and its search engines, as well as brand loyalty.

Bing has a much softer, less clinical feel than previous Microsoft search engines and rivals, with a daily changing backdrop image.

"Google haven't been able to innovate a lot of the UI (user interface) because they have to display their ads as that's how they make their revenue. We can try things a bit differently," said Mr Stoddart.

Users are also able to save their searches to avoid having to remember on which site they found a particular piece of information.

Microsoft is forming partnership with a host of different online services which Bing can then trawl to aggregate specific information around searches - such as flight deals, reviews and holidays.

Mr Stoddart said the UK version of Bing was launching later than the US because Microsoft was busy finding the "best of breed" in web services specific to the UK that it could add into search engine results.

"People keep building global search engines but doing something for the UK is important," he said.

He denied that Microsoft's goal of overtaking Yahoo lacked ambition.

"Second place would be a great place. And once we're in second place we will go for first place.

"Microsoft has a great tradition of coming from behind."

Source: BBC news

UK 'worst electrical recycler'

Old TVs and computers often get dumped at the side of the road

A study on recycling suggests Britons are the worst in Europe when it comes to recycling electrical equipment.

Computer manufacturer Dell found that fewer than half of UK residents regularly recycled old hardware, compared with more than 80% of Germans.

Within the UK, the Welsh are the worst when it comes to recycling technology; almost 20% have never done so.

It is thought the UK creates enough electrical waste each year to fill Wembley Stadium six times over.

Environmental consultant Tony Juniper said that lack of awareness was a serious issue.

PERCENTAGE WHO DO NOT RECYCLE E-WASTE Wales: 19% North-West England 17% North-East England 15% East Midlands 15% London 13% Scotland 13% East of England 11% South-West England 11% West Midlands 10% South-East England 9% Northern Ireland 7% Source: Dell

"Governments in every country need to make the disposal of old electrical equipment as accessible and commonplace as recycling old paper, plastics and glass," said the former Friends of the Earth director.

In early May, mobile operator 02 looked at what electrical equipment was inside a typical home. It found that there was an average of 2.4 TVs, 1.6 computers, 2.4 games consoles, 3 mobile phones, and 2.2 MP3 players.

Historic legislation

Introduced by the European Commission in 2002, although not coming into force in the UK until January 2007, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) was European legislation designed to "reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment being produced and to encourage everyone to reuse, recycle and recover it".

Jean Cox-Kearns, recycling manager with Dell, told the BBC that one of the reasons Britain lagged was because other countries had implemented the WEEE directive two years before.

"The UK had historic legislation that they had difficulty in implementing," she said.

There are concerns that many items that are disposed of - especially computer equipment - still work but have been rendered obsolete by new technology. A number of charities actively collect IT equipment so it can be used in the developing world.

Ms Cox-Kearns acknowledged that was preferable to recycling, although she did have reservations.

"I agree we should maximise the use of computer equipment. However, we need to find out what happens to the equipment after they [the recipients] are finished with them, otherwise it is effectively dumping."

Source: BBC news

Camera grid to log number plates

By Richard Bilton Special correspondent, BBC News

A national network of cameras and computers automatically logging car number plates will be in place within months, the BBC has learned.

Thousands of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are already operating on Britain's roads.

Police forces across England, Wales and Scotland will soon be able to share the information on one central computer.

Officers say it is a useful tool in fighting crime, but critics say the network is secretive and unregulated.

Kent's Chief Constable, Michael Fuller, commented: "We've seen an increase of some 40% of arrests since we've been using this technology.

"I'm very confident that we're using it properly and responsibly, and that innocent people have nothing to fear from the way we use it."

WHO'S WATCHING YOU? Monday, 25 May, 2009 BBC Two, 2100 BST Or catch up on BBC iPlayer

A number of local councils are signing up their Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems to the ANPR network. As long as the cameras are technically good enough, they can be adapted to take the software.

In towns such as Bradford, Portsmouth and Luton that means greater coverage for the police and more journeys captured and recorded.

John Dean, who is co-ordinating the ANPR network for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "It's the finest intelligence-led policing tool we've got.

"It covers so many different areas from crime reduction, crime detection to road safety and everything in between."

Marked car

But not everyone thinks it is such a good thing.

A 'marker' on John Catt's car led to him being stopped by anti terror police

John Catt found himself on the wrong side of the ANPR system. He regularly attends anti-war demonstrations outside a factory in Brighton, his home town.

It was at one of these protests that Sussex police put a "marker" on his car. That meant he was added to a "hotlist".

This is a system meant for criminals but John Catt has not been convicted of anything and on a trip to London, the pensioner found himself pulled over by an anti-terror unit.

"I was threatened under the Terrorist Act. I had to answer every question they put to me, and if there were any questions I would refuse to answer, I would be arrested. I thought to myself, what kind of world are we living in?"

Sussex police would not talk about the case.

The police say they do not know how many cameras there are in total, and they say that for operational reasons they will not say where the fixed cameras are positioned.

'Limited resources'

Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, whose job it is to protect personal data, has concerns about the lack of regulation.

He said: "There's very little monitoring. I mean, my office has very limited powers.

"We have very limited resources. We are not actively monitoring that area. You're right to ask the question. No one's checking it at the moment"

The BBC TV series Who's Watching You? asked the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, to comment on the Commissioner's views.

"It's something that we will look at further legislation about where necessary," she said.

"I don't think we should lose sight of the very considerable benefits that this technology also brings us, brings law enforcement."

Recent research by Huddersfield University found that the public seemed to share that view. The study took place in Leeds as the ANPR system was being introduced. The vast majority supported the cameras if they caught law breakers, with only a few mentioning concerns about police surveillance.

The police themselves say they have nothing to hide and would welcome the introduction of a regulatory code. But that seems some way off - and for now this secretive system continues to watch us and continues to grow.

Source: BBC news

Electricity to power 'smart grid'

The smart network would send its data through the power network

Global electricity networks could become smart grids that can help us monitor and control our energy usage, if plans from net firm Cisco take off.

The giant US firm, whose technology helps underpin the net, is building a two-way link into electricity grids.

Smart grids would allow devices to communicate with utility firms to give an accurate view of energy use that could cut CO2 emissions by 211m tonnes

Cisco believes the market could be worth up to $20 billion a year.

The basic premise is to link different parts of the electrical grid - from a single home to the largest of power stations - using a customised network based on Internet Protocol (IP).

Cisco say the proposal would be a "once in a generation capital investment".

With the rising cost of electrical power and concerns about how that power is generated - especially when it comes to fossil fuels - a number of other firms are also making a bid to modernise the electrical networks.

IBM launched a range of embedded software applications, although these communicate through the regular internet, rather than via the mains; General Electric and a number of new start-up firms are also making bids to capture a slice of the market.

Cisco say its system is different, because it would send the IP data down the power lines themselves, rather than using the internet.

Shocking news

Security is also a factor. In April the Wall Street Journal reported that hackers had penetrated the "US electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system".

Speaking to the BBC, Neil Harris - Cisco Europe's head of green IT - said it would be harder for hackers to penetrate the new network.

"It won't make it invulnerable, but as the network is separate from the net is adds a new layers of resilience," he said.

"We expect to see a rise in micro-generation, not just in Europe, but round the world, and the smart grid would be able to handle the bi-directional flow of data and electricity."

The UK gov wants a smart meter in every home by 2020

However, the existing grid is not exactly empty. Stewart Larque, a spokesman for the UK's National Grid, said they already monitored the main power network. The problem, he said, arose when you started dealing with individual streets.

"We have a lot of detailed information on what's going happening on our network at any given time," he told the BBC.

"We can see everything down to the substations, after that it's down to the distribution companies.

"And there is only so far they can see. Sometimes they won't know that there has been a small power cut until the users phone them to say there is a problem."

Mr Harris says the new system could address that issue.

"One of the aims is more agility in distribution. The packets would carry information on the health of the network - just as they currently do on the internet - and you could use this data to spot operational issues or even a malicious attack," he said.

Cisco say that the network would not just benefit the utility companies.

"Ultimately, this can help users see where there power is being used and from that you can see where it is being wasted and thus save on your electricity bills."

Source: BBC news

EU proposal could 'stifle' games

Tiga say the EU proposal could make developers 'overly cautious'

The future of games development has been called into question after the EU Commission suggested developers provide a two year guarantee.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva want to expand the EU Sales and Guarantees Directive.

Dr Richard Wilson, head of the video games developers' association Tiga, said a balance between consumers and developers was needed.

"They have to be careful not to stifle new ideas," he told the BBC.

"Consumers need good quality products - that is only reasonable - but if the legislation is too heavy-handed it could make publishers and developers very cautious.

At present, licensed software is exempt from EU legislation that forces firms to offer "a minimum 2-year guarantee on tangible movable consumer goods".

"Games takes years to develop and software teams often have to predict what new technology will be in place when the game is actually finished," said Dr Wilson.

"If there is an onus on developers to have software that is 'near perfect' then it could stifle new ideas as people could end up just playing it safe," he said.

Meglena Kuneva is the European commissioner for consumer protection

Change

Helen Kearns, spokesperson for Meglena Kuneva, said the commissioners wanted to kick start a dialogue with the software industry.

"The current status quo, where licensed products are exempt from EU law, is unsatisfactory," she said.

At present, retailers are not obliged to give a refund on a video game that has a bug or glitch that prevents a user completing a game. If the proposals become law, this could change as users would have the right "to get a product that works with fair commercial conditions".

Ms Kearns accepted that this assumes honesty on the part of users and that the system could be abused by people playing the game for a few weeks and then taking it back with a fraudulent fault.

"On the one hand there is the risk of abuse, but on the other it's not a good enough reason to say basic consumer protection should not apply."

Not good

The Business Software Alliance, which represents many software firms, including Apple and Microsoft, said the proposals - in their current form - would not work.

In a written statement for the BBC, the BSA's director of public policy - Francisco Mingorance, said:

"Digital content is not a tangible good and should not be subject to the same liability rules as toasters. It is contractually licensed to consumers and not sold.

"These contracts are governed by civil law that provide consumers with multitude of remedies for breach of contract. We are not aware of any shortcomings of the legal frameworks with respect to digital content."

The proposals would also see an end to regional license agreements for software sold within the EU and "end the fragmentation of laws on 'private copying'".

Source: BBC news

Google apology for slow service

Google said the outage lasted for about an hour

Google apologised for what it called a "traffic jam" that resulted in slow service or even interruption on the internet search giant's main page.

Gmail and Google's news site were also reported as "sluggish" or unavailable to millions of users for about an hour.

This is not the first time the company has faced such problems.

"An error in one of our systems caused us to direct some of our traffic through Asia," said Urs Hoelzle, a spokesman for the company.

"As a result, about 14% of our users experienced slow services or even interruptions," he said. "We've been working hard to make our services ultrafast and 'always on', so it's especially embarrassing when a glitch like this one happens.

"We're very sorry that it happened, and you can be sure that we'll be working even harder to make sure that a similar problem won't happen again," said Mr Hoelzle, Google's senior vice president of operations.

Sympathy

The outage has called into question the reliability of web-based services.

Google's "efforts to have some of their services, in particular their apps, and to a less extent Gmail, treated as serious business services that one can use instead of locally installed and maintained apps could be seriously undermined by a major outage like that," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research.

Early reports claimed a denial of service attack was to blame

"This is bad news for Google's efforts to build up Apps, and to a less extent, Gmail, as critical business tools. If the mighty Google can stumble, then who can be trusted?" Mr Gottheil told Computerworld.com

Other industry watchers say the interruption might cause businesses to reconsider using these services.

"Maybe companies that are thinking about a cloud strategy - such as Google Apps - need to look into backup clouds" said Sam Diaz, a senior editor at technology news site ZDNet.

On the microblogging service Twitter the service failure became a major topic of discussion.

"Funny how something we lived without for the longest time is suddenly something we can't live without," tweeted simonnet.

While k_sasha tweeted "Sympathies to the Google servers. Happens to everyone. But this is why the world needs more than one search engine."

Napolebsis posted "The Google outage endorses my recent decision to move some services back to offline apps."

This is not the first time that Google has had technical problems.

In February 2009, Google's Gmail service experienced a breakdown leaving millions of people worldwide without access to the free web-based e-mail service for a few hours.

In January, the internet company was hit by technical problems resulting in users being unable to access search results.

Source: BBC news

Call to 'disconnect file-sharers'

By Darren Waters Technology editor, BBC News website

ISPs could soon be asked to monitor the online activities of their users

Persistent illegal file-sharers should be cut off from the net, an alliance of UK creative industries will tell the government later.

The alliance wants the government to force internet service providers (ISPs) to disconnect users who ignore repeated warnings about sharing illegal content.

John Woodward, head of the UK Film Council, said illegal file-sharing was hurting film-making and risking jobs.

The coalition says more than 50% of net traffic in the UK is illegal content.

Mr Woodward said: "The growing threat of illegal P2P (peer to peer) file-sharing threatens [the creative industries], as films go unmade, DVD sales deteriorate and jobs are lost in production and distribution of content."

Without question, piracy threatens jobs, but have the creative industries been a bit loose with their maths and language in order to strike an emotive point? Darren Waters' blog

Eight creative bodies and five trade unions have signed a joint statement asking the government to force ISPs into banning users caught sharing illegally. It marks a significant hardening of their stance on the role of ISPs, which in the past has focused on education and awareness.

The creative industries, including the British Phonographic Industry and the Federation Against Copyright Theft, have issued a set of "urgent recommendations" that they want to be included in the government's Digital Britain manifesto.

They argue that many jobs in the 800,000-strong sectors of film, TV, music, and software are threatened by illegal file-sharing.

Last year, the UK government told ISPs to take concrete steps to curb illegal downloads or face legal sanctions, but shied away from legislation that would force ISPs to ban repeat offenders.

No-one from the Internet Service Providers Association was available for comment on the alliance's statement.

Content gatekeepers

Earlier this year, the UK's Intellectual Property minister, David Lammy, said: "We can't have a system where we're talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms."

The government has set a target of reducing illegal file-sharing by 70 to 80% within two to three years.

ISPs have long resisted becoming "gatekeepers of content" and have pointed out that any change to their role would require a change in UK legislation, which currently classifies them as mere "conduits" of data.

More than a billion songs were shared illegally online in 2007

Last year, some of the UK's biggest internet providers signed up to a voluntary scheme that saw letters sent out to thousands of users suspected of illegally sharing music.

The European Union has also signalled its interest in the debate, with MEPs saying users need to have better protection from being disconnected. MEPs stressed the need for a ruling from a court before a user's connection was cut.

The alliance warned that illegal file-sharing could have a devastating impact on creativity and the British economy, if it goes unchecked.

Secure delivery

In an "unprecedented joint statement", the alliance predicted a "lawless free-for-all" unless the government ensured the "safe and secure delivery of legal content".

It reports that in 2007 an estimated 98 million illegal downloads of films and more than a billion illegal downloads of music tracks took place in the UK. It says more than six million people in the country regularly file-share copyright content without permission.

The previous tactic of pursuing individual file-sharers in the courts appear to have been abandoned.

"Suggestions for rights-owners to take many thousands of legal actions seeking damages against individual file-sharers in court are neither practicable nor proportionate and would create a drain on public resources," the joint statement reads.

The statement stops short of calling on the government to introduce legislation with detailed technical measures to prevent illegal file-sharing.

"Instead, [the government] should provide enabling legislation, for the specific measures to be identified and implemented in an Industry Code of Practice," it recommends.

Source : BBC news

Warcraft maker tops studio study

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People queue for World of Warcraft

Blizzard, the maker of World of Warcraft, is the world's most bankable games studio, according to a study.

Online role playing game World of Warcraft boasts more than 10 million subscribers worldwide and the firm's revenues top $1.34 billion annually.

Nintendo takes second spot, with Rockstar North, makers of Grand Theft Auto, third, and Capcom fith.

The list was compiled by Develop magazine and is based on sales figures, review scores and industry standing.

DEVELOP Top 10 Blizzard Entertainment Nintendo Rockstar North EA Canada Capcom Ubisoft Montreal Treyarch Infinity Ward Epic Games Bethesda Softworks

Develop's editor-in-chief Michael French said: "World of Warcraft has... truly penetrated pop culture, inspiring everything from web memes to episodes of The Simpsons, showing Blizzard's ability to not only create compelling experiences but also court user expectations."

Twenty six UK studios make the Top 100 list, including Travellers Tales (12th), maker of the Lego videogames, and Media Molecule (18th), the creator of LittleBigPlanet.

Peter Molyneux's Lionhead, developer of the Fable games, is awarded the 22nd spot.

LittleBigPlanet developers' Alex Evans and Kengo Kurimoto give a tour around the game

Twelve separate developer studios owned by Electronic Arts, the second biggest games publisher in the world, make the list.

Treyarch and Infinity Ward, the developers which alternate the creation of Call of Duty video games, are at seven and eight in the chart.

The list reflects the changing nature of the video games landscape with mobile game developers PopCap (35th) and PlayFish (98th) also in the Top 100.

Source : BBC news