Munich, Nov 8 : Astronomers have obtained the deepest ever ground-based ultraviolet image of the Universe, which shows millions of distant galaxies of different shapes and colors.

Obtained in part with the ESO’s (European Southern Observatory’s) Very Large Telescope, the image contains more than 27 million pixels and is the result of 55 hours of observations with the VIMOS instrument.

Munich - The ski pistes this year again will be lit up by colour. Skiers and snowboarders wearing the latest fashion will be sporting bright colours and their outfits will include elements borrowed from street clothing. 

In addition to striking, ski suits in uniform solid colours, patterns in plaid, comic strip design and photographs that dot the snow scene colourfully are set to hit stores this season. The designers seem to be looking back; for some, they are reminiscent of the 1980s. 

Munich - Posting the details of one's doings on the Internet for the world to see is all the rage right now. Micro-blogging is one recent form of short online messages that is particularly well-suited to letting other people have permanent access to the details of one's daily life. Experts expect that this type of exchange will soon become an integral component of digital communication.

Micro-blogging combines characteristics from various communications worlds. As with traditional web-based diaries or blogs, micro-bloggers create a profile with a blog service and use it to post short entries. These posts are not normally more than 140 keystrokes long - shorter than a standard text message.

Munich - Most PC users are happy enough with a standard keyboard and mouse. Gamers, however, can be very demanding when it comes to their hardware, and manufacturers have responded with keyboards and mice specially tuned to their needs.

While these devices include a variety of extra functions, the question of whether the extras justify the significantly higher prices is a matter of debate.

Munich  - The premier of Bavaria, Guenther Beckstein, announced Wednesday he would step down, making him the second casualty of a disastrous election setback for his conservative party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

On Tuesday, the CSU leader, Erwin Huber, was the first to say he would leave. The CSU had elected the two men to their posts a year ago.

Beckstein said at a brief news conference he would not be available to lead the planned coalition government in the state, because he lacked the "necessary degree of support" within the CSU.

Munich - A key ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel lost its absolute majority in Bavaria as voters defected to smaller parties, according to exit polls from Sunday's state election.

Projections showed the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), polling around 43 per cent of the vote in its worst showing in half-a-century.

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), which governs in a grand coalition with the CDU in Berlin, polled around 19 per cent, roughly the same as in the last state election in 2003.