Back in 2004, both Google and Yahoo! began to refuse advertising from online casinos, citing legal problems in the USA.  While Yahoo! limited this new policy to their US site, Google extended it across their whole network.

Indeed, the search giant went even further than US regulations required, and stopped showing ads for games of chance where no money changes hands and most online fan sites with poker forums and tutorials.

All that is set to change from today, however, in the UK at least, where Google is to experiment with showing ads from online casinos once again.

Such websites are perfectly legal in Great Britain, and Google UK claims that it "hopes this will enhance the search experience for users and help advertisers connect with interested consumers. "

Nevertheless, the decision has not been without controversy, notably from religious leaders.

Secular groups too are unhappy, and gambling support charity GamCare, who say they have seen an extra 7 000 people addicted to gambling coming to them for help this year are unimpressed.

Google's response is that users will still be able to filter out such content, should they choose to do so.

"Gambling ads will automatically be classified as Non-Family Safe," commented their spokesman, "which means they will not show on any search where the user has applied the Safe Search filter."

We've just added three new heatsinks to the Product Survey that we launched earlier this month.

This time round, we've had the following in our labs:

• the CoolerMaster Z600, which works out of the box as passive heatsink without a fan, although it does including fittings for ventilation if you decide to add one

• the Gigabyte G-Power II Pro, an innovative model with 45° heat-exchangers

• the Xilence Black Hawk, which features red LCD lighting and horizontal fan blades

> Product Survey: CPU Heatsinks

Two new digital compacts from Casio have arrived in the shops to replace its Exilim Z200: the Z250 and the Z300. These new models have several things in common: a 28-1142 mm zoom lens, giving plenty of room for portraits and landscapes, mechanical stabilization, a large 7.6 cm screen (with a disappointing resolution, though) and the new Exilim Engine 3.0 which will hopefull bring the Exilim range up to the performances of Canon's Ixus line. All of today's fashionable features are there, including face detection and a YouTube mode, which records video in a format that can be uploaded directly to the popular video sharing website. As for the differences between the two models, they start with the sensors: the Z250's 9 Megapixels are trumped by the Z300's 10 Megapixels, which has lead to slightly different lens mountings on each camera.  The other major difference is the video resolution supported by the two cameras: the Z250 only supports WGA, but the Z300 records HD video at 720p. Less important perhaps are the aesthetic differences, which are nevertheless an important consideration for many customers looking to buy a compact digital camera. The Z250 is flatter and has a simpler design available in a choice of six colors, while the Z300 only comes in gray, black or pink.

Casio Exilim Z300 Casio Exilim Z250

	Casio EX-Z250	Casio EX-Z300
Sensor:	CCD 1/2.5", 9 Mpx 64-3200 ISO	CCD 1/2.3", 10 Mpx 64-3200 ISO
Lens:	4.65-18.6 mm (28-112 mm equivalent) f/2.6-5.9 macro mode: 15 cm	4.9-19.6 mm (28-112 mm equivalent) f/2.6-5.8 macro mode: 10 cm
Video:	848x480 px, 30 fps	1280x720 px, 24 fps
Formats:	JPEG photos MOV and H.264 for video
Exposition:	automatique, correction sur +/-2 EV mesure multizone, pondérée, spot
White balancing:	Automatic with 6 presets
Screen:	3", 230 400 pixels
Power:	Proprietary battery: NP-70 Life: 280 photos	Proprietary battery: NP-40 Life: 300 photos
Dimensions:	9.7 x 5.7 x 2 cm	9.7 x 5.8 x 2.3 cm
Weight:	120 g	130 g

> Product Survey: Compact Digital Cameras

If you've been planning a trip to Paris, then you might have noticed a new option in Google Maps--Street View has arrived on the streets of the French capital.

After a popular trial that covered the route of 2008's Tour de France cycle race, the system is now available for almost all of Paris and some of its suburbs, as weel as Lyon, Marseille, Nice and Toulouse.

You can now check out street cafés, shopfronts and historic sights as if you were wandering through the city yourself.   The photos for Street View are taken at the height of around two meters from the top of a moving car before being stitched together, and the overall effect is a bit like taking a bus ride down the rues and boulevards.