Dazzling opening ceremony launches 30th Olympic 2012

London presented a vibrant picture of Great Britain's rich heritage and culture as a colourful opening ceremony marked the inauguration of the 30th Olympic Games at the spunky Olympic stadium on Friday night.

Queen Elizabeth II declared the Games open amidst thunderous cheers from the capacity crowd of 80,000 signalling the launch of the biggest sporting spectacle which returned to Britain after a gap of 64 years, giving the country the distinction of holding the mega event for an unprecedented third time.

The night sky lit up with dazzling fireworks as the Queen declared the Games open to herald London's moment of glory in the presence of as many as 100 heads of state and a host of other dignitaries who have descended on this historic city to witness the extravaganza, watched by an estimated one billion global audience.

The 27 million pound three-and-a-half-hour long opening ceremony, which magically transformed the stadium into a rural British idyll, complete with cows, horses, sheep and dogs and synthetic clouds to provide traditional British rain, was designed to give Britons a "picture of ourselves as a nation".

More than 10,000 performers took part in the opening extravaganza which vividly brought about the country-side scenes -- a cricket pitch, traditional country side cottages, mining wheel and people dressed in the Victorian era.

Actor Daniel Craig, who has played the fictional spy 007 James Bond in films, was shown in a video accompanying the Queen from Buckingham Palace into a waiting helicopter and then taking her to the Stadium.

There was also a touch of British humour in the form of Rowan Atkinson who regaled the audience with his famous "Mr Bean" comic act.

The Ceremony's artistic director Danny Boyle, whose film "Slumdog Millionaire" won eight Oscars, had kept most elements of his show a secret.

Former England football captain David Beckham brought the Olympic flame on a speedboat on the Thames river before handing it over to five-time Olympic gold medallist rower Sir Steve Redgrave.

A group of seven athletes nominated by British Olympic champions then took the flame from Redgrave and ran around the stadium before lighting the Games' Couldron made up of 204 copper petals carried in by teams from across the world.

The competitive action will unfold tomorrow as around 10,500 athletes from 204 countries affiliated to the International Olympic Committee will battle for glory and honour in the next 17 days with powerhouses USA and China expected to retain their supremacy.

The 17-day sporting spectacle will see competitions in 39 disciplines with the new addition of women's boxing this time around.

The 204 participating teams walked into the stadium amidst loud cheers from the spectators many of whom had thronged the stadium well ahead of the scheduled start.

Google launches scientific calculator

Next time, you need to do a quick calculation, you can head to Google. The search giant has added a scientific calculator to its varied array of features.

The company's new 34-button calculator appears the moment you type in the word "calculator" or a mathematical expression say "4x5" into the search box.

The calculator gives users ability to do everything from arithmetic to trigonometric calculations. The calculator has functions for calculating sines, cosines, square roots and tangents as well as also dedicated buttons for Pi and Euler's number.

Not just this, Users can also use Google's voice search feature -- found in mobile version and in Chrome browser -- to do calculations without actually touching keyboard.

The search giant has also announced its Panda algorithm update (version 3.9) via its official Twitter account.

Launched in February 2011, Panda is aimed to lower the ranks of low-quality websites and list high-quality sites close to the top of the search results.

Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th President of India

We are in midst of fourth world war: President Pranab

Fight against terrorism is the fourth world war and India has been on the frontlines of this, President Pranab Mukherjee today said while hailing the valour and conviction of the Indian armed forces.

Taking oath as the President, he said few minutes of peace will achieve far more than many years of war.

"...But the visible rewards of peace have also obscured the fact that the age of war is not over. We are in the midst of a fourth world war; the third was the Cold War, but it was very warm in Asia, Africa and Latin America till it ended in the 1990s," said the President, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

"The war against terrorism is the fourth; and it is a world war because it can raise its evil head anywhere in the world," the President said in his acceptance speech in the Central Hall of Parliament.

India has been on the frontlines of this war long before many other recognised its vicious depth or poisonous consequences, he said.

"I am proud of the valour, conviction and steely determination of our armed forces as they have fought this menace on our borders; of our brave police forces as they have met the enemy within; and of our people, who have defeated the terrorist trap by remaining calm in the face of extraordinary provocation," Mukherjee said.

Noting that the people of India have been "a beacon of maturity through the trauma of whiplash wounds", he reminded those who instigate violence and perpetuate hatred that "few minutes of peace will achieve far more than many years of war".

"India is content with itself, and driven by the will to sit on the high table of prosperity. It will not be deflected in its mission by noxious practitioners of terror," the President said.