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Chances are, you've at least heard of Kiva , the microfinancing nonprofit that allows users to give bite-sized loans to entrepreneurs in poverty-stricken regions. Because people like to feel good by offering cash to worthy causes (or so we've heard), Kiva has done exceptionally well, funding $200 million worth of microloans since its launch in 2004. And as of today, you can specifically fund what are, in our opinion, the smartest entrepreneurs--the ones who realize that efficiency is the key to becoming self-sufficient.

One team started fast, the other finished strong. The results were the same: tied for the lead after the first round at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

Making sense of our data-saturated world requires a combination of technical and design skill.

Nature News and Columbia University team up and produce a Google Earth map that makes nuclear risk stark. Nature News and Columbia University have joined forces to make a Google Earth map showing the world populations at risk from nuclear fallout. The interactive map combines data on population and the locations and sizes of reactors, plotting risk graphically in the form of circles.

SimpleGeo has placed 20 million locations for "places" in the public domain to drive developers of location-based service apps. The thing is that data, combined with location-tracking smartphones, could spark unsavory uses too. In a direct challenge to Foursquare's effort to become the "Rosetta stone" for location-data on identifiable geo-located "places," SimpleGeo is trying to spark a revolution in location-based app writing by making the data for 20 million places available on its servers under the Creative Commons Zero license--essentially placing the data for free into the public domain.

You might be surprised at some of the foods that have been shown to help fight flab

The Fast Company reader's essential source for breaking news and innovation from around the web--updated all day. "Google Rumored Preparing $10/Month Chrome OS Laptop Rentals " As soon as this Summer, Google might rent out Chrome OS laptops for a small monthly fee. [Update: 10:30 PM PST] Android Tracking Location Data, Too Those with Android -based smartphones who thought they were safe from Apple's recently discovered location-tracking program should think again

It's that time of the year again, when publicists everywhere pitch their most eco-friendly products in the silliest of ways. Let's hope they're at least diluting real environmentalism with reclaimed water. Happy Earth Day, everyone

01 / Yandex > > For mastering search. The internet search company Yandex is already three times more popular than Google in its home market (Russia) and this year, it made its move onto Google's international turf with the launch of an English-language search engine. One of Yandex's key advantages has always been the complexity of the Russian language, whose Lego-set of prefixes, roots and suffixes has forced it to be a step ahead in the nuance of its algorithms.

Coffee in a mug could help the environment but hurt your diet

Almost 900 million people in the world live without access to safe drinking water--the kind of water that is safe enough to flow straight from the tap into your mouth (with maybe a Brita filter in between). For these people, walking hours each day to faraway and potentially contaminated streams and wells is a way of life, and not one that is particularly conducive to getting much done

There's always a hand out-stretched begging for cash for a cause, it seems. And you probably rarely, if ever, give.

Professional pyromaniacs (fine, engineers) employed by the insurance industry are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to recreate horrific natural disasters--and their research is helping companies avoid millions in losses. As wildfires rage through Texas and the U.S

PGT: Westwood has share of lead in Indonesia

PGT: Garcia in contetion in China