Prague - The European Union's plan for a new database to monitor the fingerprints and photographs of people entering the bloc has already cost more than double its budget, experts said at a meeting of EU interior ministers on Thursday.

And the project was so far behind schedule that a crisis was looming, the ministers told the press at the informal talks in Prague.

Experts at the meeting estimated that the second-generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), originally expected to cost 23 million euros (30 million dollars), had already cost between 60 and 80 million euros, diplomats told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Washington, Jan 15 : NASA has successfully completed its third round of testing for a technology development engine that may help astronauts to safely return to the surface of the Moon.

The goal of these tests is to reduce risk and advance technology for a reliable and robust rocket engine that could enable America''s next moon landing.

The tests by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne in West Palm Beach, Florida, helped gather data on this concept engine that might play a role in the next stage of human exploration of the moon.

The goal of a lunar lander descent engine is to slow the vehicle so astronauts can land safely.

London, Jan 15: While all of us have experienced surprises in our lives, scientists have now created a computer model that has actually defined it-surprise is a change in expectation caused by the arrival of new data.

Making use of a rather aptly named unit of measurement- the "wow"- Pierre Baldi at the University of California, Irvine, and Laurent Itti at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles developed the model while investigating human attention.

According to a popular 1950s theory, what is unknown catches more of our attention till the time we understand it completely, for example our attention should hover over intricate patterns longer than over a plain surface.

London, Jan 14 : Microsoft has warned computer users against downloading the latest test version of Windows, for it might harm their computers.

The firm today released a "beta" version of Windows 7, which allows expert users to try the product and highlight any glitches.

However, owing to the soaring demands for the new version, Microsoft has put a 2.5 million limit on the number of copies available until January 24.

And today, the firm has made it clear that the product is not meant for every user, but is only aimed at computer experts.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has approached Union Law ministry to get legal aid on the issue of increasing base price for 3G and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum allocation.

Interestingly, the telecom department is not is the favor of increasing base price of 3G spectrum as it can discourage companies to participate in the auction process. Low participation by companies may decrease competitiveness that can lead to significant losses to state exchequer.

With the motive to help New Delhi face any nuclear threats from Pakistan and other "volatile" countries in the region, the US and India are engaged in talks over sale of missile shield systems which is also a part of their overall strategic partnership.

The media reports which quoted unnamed US diplomats said, "The preliminary talks took place mainly at a scientific and technical level and American defense officials had conducted computer simulations with their Indian counterparts."