Australia and its immediate neighbours are home to a third of the world's languages, most of which could disappear without trace. A national archive project is capturing what it can, and making the resource available online to researchers and regional cultural centres.

The Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC) project has been recognised with the Victorian eResearch Strategic Initiative (VeRSI) Award in humanities and social sciences. The project team will receive a server worth over $26,000 thanks to the prize's sponsor, Dell.

"Hey, America, looking for a way to solve the energy crisis? Try following Denmark's lead, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times. The country has a few simple fixes that go a long way: Friedman observes half the rush-hour traffic is bicycles; wind provides 20% of the country's power; and tax incentives help reduce the addiction to oil."

Coinciding with Maori Language Week, the company yesterday launched Google Aotearoa to cater specially for people who speak the language of New Zealand's indigenous people.

Aotearoa is a Maori word often translated as Land of the Long White Cloud, and commonly used by North Island Maori as the word for New Zealand.

A spokeswoman from the Maori Language Commission said 29 people had been part of the team working on the project during the last year, including three key translators.

More than 8750 words were translated as part of the project.

ALEX Salmond declared Scotland on the brink of a renewables revolution yesterday as he gave the go-ahead for the largest wind farm in Europe.
The First Minister told the World Renewable Energy Congress in Glasgow the green light had been given to a 152-turbine project in South Lanarkshire. The chairman of the congress then hailed Mr Salmond as the "saint of renewable energy".

THERE'S A wind blowing from the east, and with it comes the greatest threat that Scotland has ever faced. It is a global challenge of such power and fury that it threatens one out of every five Scottish jobs. Yet the country has neither the tools nor the expertise to fight it off.