Helsinki  - Finnish computer expert Jerry Javala has generated interest around the internet after word spread of how he had his finger prosthesis fitted with a USB flash drive.

Javala lost part of his left ring finger in a motorcycle accident in 2008 and his doctor, hearing what Javala did for a living, helped him fit a USB "finger drive," according to Javala's web site www. protoblogr. net.

Helsinki - Finnish handgun laws are to be tightened, with more provisions planned to screen people applying for a handgun license, according to draft legislation released Wednesday.

The measures presented by the Interior Ministry were to be subject for review by various agencies and other groups.

There have been calls for tighter handgun laws in the wake of two school shootings in recent years. The most recent shooting, in September 2008 at a trade school in Kauhajoki, in western Finland, claimed 11 lives.

The gunmen in both school shootings bought handguns after briefly being member of shooting clubs.

Helsinki - The Finnish parliament Wednesday approved controversial legislation allowing employers to track e-mails sent by employees.

The legislation was adopted 96 to 56 while 47 parliamentarians were absent at the final reading of the bill.

The so-called data protection law does not allow employers to read e-mails, but e-mails and the size of attachments can be tracked on suspicion of corporate espionage.

Helsinki  - Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile phones, Wednesday said it planned to concentrate its mobile research and development to fewer sites in Finland and introduce temporary layoffs to counter lower demand.

The site for mobile research and development in the city of Jyvaskyla, was to be closed by the end of 2009, impacting some 320 employees, the group said.

Research and development sites were to remain in Tampere, Oulu, Salo and the greater Helsinki area.

Helsinki - A Finnish appeals court Tuesday convicted the author and publisher of a kiss-and-tell book on Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, saying it violated his privacy.

Vanhanen had appealed a lower court ruling that in March 2008 cleared the book based on material provided by a woman, Susan Ruusunen, whom he had once dated.

Author Susan Ruusunen was sentenced to pay a fine of 300 euros (389 dollars) while publisher Kari Ojala was ordered to pay 840 euros (1,089 dollars), Finnish news agency STT reported.

Helsinki - Finnish energy group Fortum on Thursday filed an application to build a new nuclear reactor power plant in Finland, the company and government said.

The planned location was near the city of Loviisa, some 90 kilometres east of Helsinki, where the group operates two of Finland's four nuclear power plants.

Five different plant alternatives were being considered, the group said, adding the design was to allow both heat and power production.

Advantages with the location near Loviisa included that construction would not change land ownership or protective zones, Fortum said.