VOLKSWAGEN, PSAPeugeot Citroen and other European car makers may be forced to halt production in coming weeks as component suppliers in earthquake-ravaged Japan struggle to restart factories.

FROM clothes riddled with sensors to name tags thatdetect our moods, computing’s next wave couldunleash small devices thatincreasingly augment everyday activities with digitalintelligence.

Hitachi Ltd said it has developed the world's smallest IC tag, a device that has a built-in antenna to permit wireless communications with other devices. The company plans to develop new markets for the chip.