Xbox Live users are being urged to check their accounts after some say they were scammed by a fake email.

The phishing attack sent users to a fake website where they were asked to input personal details like addresses, emails and credit card details.

Microsoft is investigating but doesn't know how many users are affected.

"We take the security of the Xbox Live service seriously and work to improve it against evolving threats," a Microsoft spokesman said.

"Very occasionally, though, we are contacted by members regarding alleged unauthorized access to their accounts by outside individuals.

"We work closely with impacted members directly to resolve any unauthorized changes to their accounts and, as always, highly recommend all Xbox Live users follow our account security guidance in order to protect their account details."

Microsoft says there is advice on its website about staying safe online but advises that people should never give out passwords or email addresses.

They say users should never type personal information into websites unless they are sure that they are genuine.

Jason Hart, MD of Cryptocard and a former ethical hacker, said: "Xbox customers are finding that they might have had more than £100 pilfered from their accounts.

"This is the third instance of hacking to hit the gaming industry in as many months and it is clear that hackers are finding it all to easy to steal gamers identities and access the financial information they need to make off with users cash."

Most HTC phones are based on Google's Android operating system

A US agency has ruled that Apple did not violate graphic patents owned by S3 Graphics, a unit of Taiwan's HTC.

S3, which makes image compression technology, filed a complaint with trade agency, ITC, in May 2010.

The company accused Apple of infringing four patents, which it said were used widely in a range of Apple products.

Apple is embroiled in numerous patent disputes in many countries, most famously with Samsung.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) said its investigation into the matter between Apple and S3 had been terminated.

Shares in HTC, which purchased S3 in July, fell 4.9% on the news.

In July, an ITC judge had ruled that Apple infringed some of the patents.

The latest ruling reverses the earlier decision.

The ITC is an agency that has the power to block the import of products into the United States that it believes violate patents.

Engineers say the material is less dense than aerogels and metallic foams

A team of engineers claims to have created the world's lightest material.

The substance is made out of tiny hollow metallic tubes arranged into a micro-lattice - a criss-crossing diagonal pattern with small open spaces between the tubes.

The researchers say the material is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and has "extraordinarily high energy absorption" properties.

Potential uses include next-generation batteries and shock absorbers.

The research was carried out at the University of California, Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology and is published in the latest edition of Science.

"The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair," said lead author Dr Tobias Schaedler.

The resulting material has a density of 0.9 milligrams per cubic centimetre.

By comparison the density of silica aerogels - the world's lightest solid materials - is only as low as 1.0mg per cubic cm.

The metallic micro-lattices have the edge because they consist of 99.99% air and of 0.01% solids.

The engineers say the material's strength derives from the ordered nature of its lattice design.

By contrast, other ultralight substances, including aerogels and metallic foams, have random cellular structures. This means they are less stiff, strong, energy absorptive or conductive than the bulk of the raw materials that they are made out of.

William Carter, manager of architected materials at HRL, compared the new material to larger low-density structures.

"Modern buildings, exemplified by the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge are incredibly light and weight-efficient by virtue of their architecture," he said.

"We are revolutionising lightweight materials by bringing this concept to the nano and micro scales."

To study the strength of the metallic micro-lattices the team compressed them until they were half as thick.

After removing the load the substance recovered 98% of its original height and resumed its original shape.

The first time the stress test was carried out and repeated the material became less stiff and strong, but the team says that further compressions made very little difference.

"Materials actually get stronger as the dimensions are reduced to the nanoscale," said team member Lorenzo Valdevit.

"Combine this with the possibility of tailoring the architecture of the micro-lattice and you have a unique cellular material."

The engineers suggest practical uses for the substance include thermal insulation, battery electrodes and products that need to dampen sound, vibration and shock energy.