Police speculated yesterday that accidental suffocation, not suicide, may have caused the death of actor David Carradine, whose body was found in a hotel closet in Bangkok with a rope tied to his neck, wrist, and genitals. The circumstances under which he died have led to speculation that the 72-year-old actor may have been engaged in a dangerous form of sex play known as auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Users surfing the web for song lyrics, free music tracks and screen savers are most at risk of accidentally downloading malicious software, a study has found.

Many of the websites purporting to contain this content also harbour virus, Trojans and other malware, the computer security experts at McAfee found. As a result, many web users are unwittingly exposing themselves to dangerous content that could compromise their machine and even lead to hackers and cybercriminals gaining access to their personal information or banking login details.

Among the most dangerous search terms were “free music downloads”, which carried a 20.7 per cent risk of exposing web users to malicious software, “game cheats”, which carried a 16.7 per cent risk, “word unscrambler”, which carried a 16.1 per cent risk, and “lyrics”, which carried a 14.8 per cent risk.

McAfee also analysed the risk levels by search category, and found that “screensavers” was the riskiest group of products to search for online, with a 34.4 per cent chance of exposing web users to malware, while searches for “free games” carried a 6.8 per cent risk.

Other dangerous search terms included “iPhone”, “Jonas brothers” and “Rhianna”.

“The web is a great resource, but consumers need to understand that it has risks,” said Shane Keats, a research analyst at McAfee. “Those risks are magnified if you search in popular categories.”

McAfee’s report said that cybercriminals were becoming increasingly savvy about finding new ways to ensnare web users, and that targeting keywords associated with downloading content was one of the most-used.

“One key tool cybercriminals use to snare victims is to get them to download a computer file or program that comes with a malicious payload,” said the report.

“Hackers are most successful when they can attract a large number of victims. One way to target big crowds online is to track current events – everything from celebrity meltdowns and natural disasters to holidays and popular music.”

The McAfee study analysed more than 2,600 popular keywords from a wide variety of sources, including Google Zeitgeist, a tool that monitors hot search terms.

Hugh Hefner is reportedly lining up British billionaire Richard Branson to take over his Playboy empire.

Hefner's company - founded 56 years ago - is battling the recession and the rise in internet pornography, with the firm recently posting losses of $13 million for the first three months of 2009.

Sources suggest the 83-year-old is thinking of retiring and courting Virgin boss Branson as a potential buyer - with a price-tag set at $300 million .

A Playboy spokesperson denies any offers have been made, but admits Hefner would "listen to proposals that could create value for all of our shareholders".

Two dinosaur skulls have fetched top prices at an auction in New York.

A giant 65-million-year-old Triceratops skull sold at Bonhams' Natural History auction for $242,000 (£148,000).

A skull from a cousin of the T. rex, the Alioramus remotus, went for $206,000 (£126,000). Both sold for almost double the original estimates.

The auction house would not reveal the buyers, but said the bones could end up as home ornaments.

'Like a sculpture'

The Triceratops skull, which was more than 80% intact, measured some 5.5ft (1.7m) long and had eye sockets the size of dinner plates.

Much smaller than a typical Triceratops head, it is thought to have belonged to a young dinosaur who died of an infection, the New York Times newspaper reported.

"It actually looks lovely... it looks like a sculpture," Bonhams' spokeswoman Staci Smith told AFP news agency.

She said private collectors often snap up "dinosauria" - the collective term for dinosaur eggs, teeth and bone fragments - to decorate their homes, but conceded: "You'd have to have an extremely large living room."

The skulls had been estimated to go for between $120,000 to $140,000 each.

The talented and powerful blues singer has passed away today.

Just when you start to enjoy reading your daily dose of entertainment articles online, you stumble upon an article about the death of a beloved entertainer, and in this case it’s Koko Taylor. Today, Koko Taylor, an American blues musician, has died at the age of 80 from complications after having gastrointestinal surgery, reported by ChicagoTribune.com. Her surgery was on May 19 and 15 days later, she took the turn for the worst.

She had many popular songs, such as “Hey Bartender,” “I’m a Woman,” and her most famous track, “Wang Wang Doodle.”

Blues singer and musician Ronnie Baker Brooks said, “The passion that she brought and the fire and the growl in her voice when she sang was the truth,” according to The Associate Press.

Koko Taylor had a tremendous singing career for 50 years. Her last performance was at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tenn. Having been given a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1985, Koko Taylor will live on through her music.

Intel Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wind River Systems Inc, under which Intel will acquire all outstanding Wind River common stock for $11.50 per share in cash, or approximately $884 million in the aggregate.

Wind River is a leading software vendor in embedded devices, and will become part of Intel’s strategy to grow its processor and software presence outside the traditional PC and server market segments into embedded systems and mobile handheld devices. Wind River will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel and continue with its current business model of supplying leading-edge products and services to its customers worldwide.

“This acquisition will bring us complementary, market-leading software assets and an incredibly talented group of people to help us continue to grow our embedded systems and mobile device capabilities,” said Renee James, Intel vice president and general manager of the company’s Software and Services Group. “Wind River has thousands of customers in a wide range of markets, and now both companies will be better positioned to meet growth opportunities in these areas.”

“Our combination of strengths will be of great benefit to Wind River’s existing and future customers,” said Ken Klein, Wind River Chairman, president and CEO. “As a wholly owned subsidiary, Wind River will more tightly align its software expertise to Intel’s platforms to speed the pace of progress and software innovation. We remain committed to continuing to provide leading solutions across multiple hardware architectures and delivering the same world-class support to which our customers have grown accustomed.”

The acquisition will deliver to Intel robust software capabilities in embedded systems and mobile devices, both important growth areas for the company. Embedded systems and mobile devices include smart phones, mobile Internet devices, other consumer electronics (CE) devices, in-car “info-tainment” systems and other automotive areas, networking equipment, aerospace and defense, energy and thousands of other devices. This multi-billion dollar market opportunity is increasingly becoming connected and more intelligent, requiring supporting applications and services as well as full Internet functionality.

The board of directors of Wind River has unanimously approved the transaction. It is expected to close this summer, subject to certain regulatory approvals and other conditions specified in the definitive agreement. Upon completion of the acquisition, Wind River will report into Intel’s Software and Services Group, headed by Renee James.

Wind River – A Leader in Embedded Software

As an Intel subsidiary, Wind River will continue to develop innovative, commercial-grade software platforms that support multiple hardware architectures that are optimized for the needs of its many embedded and mobile customers. The acquisition will boost Wind River’s Intel-architecture focused sales as it gains access to the company’s technology investments, brand, employees and global sales force.

Founded in 1981, Wind River is a publicly held company with headquarters in Alameda, Calif., with more than 1,600 employees and operations in more than 15 countries. During its fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2009, Wind River reported annual revenues of $359.7 million.