A virtual world where US students learn about palaeontology, biology and culture has been using BGAN to get them involved in real-life scientific investigations in Africa.

Spinoza said, "Nature abhors a vacuum" - in much of Africa, for too long there was an information vacuum; Central and Western countries, in particular, have lacked a real landline infrastructure.

A Masters student from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, has found a way to improve the performance of one of the worlds leading search engines.