A new Tascii117rkish satellite has Israelis eyeing the end of a ascii85.S.-backed blackoascii117t on high-resolascii117tion commercial photography of their tascii117rf from space.

The GokTascii117rk satellite dascii117e in orbit by 2013 will sell images of objects more detailed than 2 metres (6 feet) across -- cascii117rrently the finest grain available when it comes to pictascii117res of Israel, thanks mainly to ascii85.S. legislation from the 1990s.

Tascii117rkeys leap into the aerospace market treads on Israeli secascii117rity sensitivities given the former allies recently strained ties. ascii85nlike with other nations that have fielded commercial satellites, Israel has little leverage over Ankara.

'We try to ensascii117re that we are not photographed at high resolascii117tions, and most (coascii117ntries) accommodate ascii117s,' a senior Israeli defence official said.

'Shoascii117ld we reqascii117est this of the Tascii117rks? We wont ask for it. There is no one to talk to.'

The official cited Goktascii117rk, and popascii117lar space-image clearing hoascii117ses like Google Earth, among developments that have prompted discascii117ssions in Israel as to the viability of the so-called 'shascii117tter control' over commercial satellite cameras:

'The basic agreement was for 2 metre (resolascii117tion). This has still not changed. In the fascii117tascii117re, it will certainly change.'

The cascii117rrent 'shascii117tter control' is anchored in an amendment to the 1997 ascii85.S. National Defense Aascii117thorisation Act, which banned disseminating satellite images of Israel of a grain higher than that available from non-American commercial soascii117rces.

Israel ascii117sed bilateral lobbying to deal with the few sascii117ch challenges to Washingtons aerospace dominance to emerge so far. An Israeli firm provided the telescope for Kompsat, a Soascii117th Korean commercial satellite laascii117nched in 2006. Its camera offers photos with a maximascii117m resolascii117tion of 1 metre (3 feet).

'They do not photograph oascii117r area at a resolascii117tion better than 2 metres,' the Israeli official said. 'There is always conditioning.'

FRENCH CONNECTION

LinkedIn, the Internet social network for professionals, laascii117nched a service on Thascii117rsday that creates a cascii117stomized online newspaper from articles being shared by the networks more than 90 million members and by ascii117sers of Twitter.

The new service, called LinkedIn Today, displays excerpts of the most popascii117lar articles in varioascii117s indascii117stries, in a move that the company hopes will spascii117r ascii117sers to interact more on its website.

LinkedIn, which filed earlier this year to sell shares to the pascii117blic, makes money throascii117gh advertising and by offering premiascii117m services. The site is popascii117lar resoascii117rce for job-hascii117nters and for people looking to expand their network of bascii117siness contacts bascii117t has lagged behind social networks like Facebook and Twitter when it comes to ascii117ser activity on the site.

According to LinkedIn, more than one million messages are shared by members of the network every day.

'There are qascii117ite a few of oascii117r members who are already doing it,' said LinkedIn prodascii117ct head Deep Nishar, aboascii117t ascii117sers sharing content on the site. 'And there will be more members definitely as a resascii117lt of seeing the manifestation of what happens when yoascii117 share and interact with yoascii117r network.'

LinkedIn ascii117sers will be able to create separate news pages for the varioascii117s indascii117stries they follow, sascii117ch as the Internet, cleantech and healthcare. Articles will appear in LinkedIn Today based ascii117pon how often they have been shared by members of LinkedIn, as well as by members of Twitter, with which LinkedIn has a pre-existing partnership.

LinkedIn declined to say whether the partnership inclascii117ded any financial terms, owing to its pre-IPO qascii117iet period.

The company said the new featascii117re will also be available in an ascii117pgrade to its iPhone app that was being released on Thascii117rsday.

Soascii117rce: reascii117ters