Google has todayannounceddetails of a new academic initiative looking at how the Internet interfaces with society. To be run from Berlin, three German institutions have come on board as partners: TheHumboldt University, theUniversity of the Artsand theSocial Science Research Center Berlin. The project will study a variety of Internet-related issues, specifically: Internet and constitutional law; Internet governance and policy; Internet-based innovation and the economy, and Media governance. Set to launch in October this year with an international symposium, theInstitute for Internet and Societyis far from Google’s first venture into academic funding....

Google I/O, Google’s developer conference, was so quick to sell out this year that now the only way to get a ticket is to participate in a developer challenge. Google is calling the contestLast Call for Google I/O. The contest will span 10 challenges, and at the end of each challenge Google will give 10 tickets to winners. The contest will run from March 16 to March 29, and focus on a different Google product each day....

Google has reportedly partnered with Mastercard and Citigroup to develop a new mobile payment system for its Android operating system that will allow handset owners make purchases using NFC technology embedded in modern phones,the WSJ reports this morning. According to sources, Google intends to simplify the mobile payments market, boosting its advertising business by offering retailers targeted data on their customers, allowing them to tailor specific marketing campaigns and offers to mobile phone owners in and around their stores....

Google has been making investments in US clean tech projects for some time, and it’s justannouncedthe first such move in Europe. The company will make a €3.5 million (around $5m US) investment in a solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Germany. The plant consists of 47 hectares (116 acres) of solar panels situated in Brandenburg an der Havel, near Berlin. It has a peak capacity of 18.65MWp, putting it among the largest in the country....

Google is to investigate reports that its new Android 2.3.2 Gingerbread update is causing data issues on the Nexus S, after users took toGoogle’s Support Forumsto highlight problems with their devices. A thread on the forum lists a small number of users who are finding their Nexus S smartphones are reporting 3G signal, despite being connected to Wi-Fi, causing some connectivity issues in the process. It starts with users “fizzydx” whoposts:...