These days even Indiana Jones might think twice about packing his trusty trowel and theodolite for some fieldwork in southern Afghanistan. But guerrillas and foreign armies are no obstacle for archaeologists who are using Google Earth to identify hundreds of new sites. They have also drawn up plans of more than 45 known but previously unmapped sites.

Until recently, satellite images have been too expensive and variable for widespread use by archaeologists. Now Google Earth’s freely available high-resolution images are helping David Thomas and colleagues at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, to forge ahead with a project called Archaeological Sites of Afghanistan in Google Earth, which catalogues details of 463 potential sites in the Registan desert. These include mounds called tepes - the remains of ancient mud cities - hand-dug underground water channels and villages.

Thomas has also produced basic plans of sites such as the Qal’a-i Hauz fortress, believed to be a winter dwelling of the Ghaznavid elite of the 11th and 12th centuries. The images show evidence of structures which may have been hides used to hunt gazelle, and raised features probably used to manage water supplies.

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Apple said Monday it sold one million new iPhones in the initial weekend, on par with estimates set by analysts.

The original iPhone, introduced in late June 2007 in the United States only, sold about 270,000 units in its first two days. Sales topped one million by early September. The new device is sold in 21 countries.

“IPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend,” Apple’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, said in a statement.

Steven Hodges, president for the Northeast region for AT&T, Apple’s only carrier in the United States, would not disclose how many iPhones it had sold, but he said the iPhone would be AT&T’s key device for the holiday shopping season this year.

Activation problems marred the phone’s introduction Friday in the United States, with many buyers leaving stores frustrated that they could not use it after waiting in line for hours.

AT&T blamed problems in synchronizing the phone with Apple’s iTunes online music and software store, saying they were probably caused by too many people trying to gain access to iTunes at the same time.

“We don’t yet know the breakdown of how many phones were sold to new customers and how many existing iPhone customers upgraded, but regardless, sales during the first weekend were very impressive,” said Jeffrey Kagan, an independent telecommunications analyst.

Still, iPhone sales pale compared with those of established mobile phone makers, like Nokia, which sells almost 10 million phones a week, or the Samsung Electronics Company or LG Electronics, which each ship more than 100 million a year.

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Eight hours into “Grand Theft Auto IV” (Rockstar Games, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99), I’ve stolen 17 cars, run over 20 people and killed another 15 (some of whom had it coming). I’ve shaken down a couple of store owners and beaten up an old lady. I’ve driven while drunk and, perhaps worse, while talking on a cell phone.

I’ve also bowled and played pool. I’ve listened to some really cool tunes and watched a surprisingly lame standup routine by Ricky Gervais. I met a nice young lady and took her out to dinner. I bought some new clothes and got my car washed.

I haven’t murdered any prostitutes or engaged in any graphic sex acts. (Although, for the record, there’s a very brief, non-interactive S&M scene right at the beginning of the game — which almost serves as a warning that this isn’t “Pokemon.”) And the violence has been relatively tame: Certainly, the number of bodies dropped per hour is less than in the last two Oscar-winning best pictures, “No Country for Old Men” and “The Departed.”

Still, protests are inevitable, because any game that puts the player in the shoes of a criminal is bound to be seen as perverse. It’s hard to argue with critics who find the “Grand Theft Auto” games immoral, because the developers at Rockstar Games seem to revel in their nihilism. I’ve attacked Rockstar in the past for such cynical, ultraviolent games as “Manhunt 2,” but I’d never argue that they don’t have the right to publish them.

Just so we’re clear, “Grand Theft Auto IV” is not for the kids. It’s rated “M” for mature, so people under 17 shouldn’t be able to buy it. It has lots of blood, some nudity and a nearly constant stream of filthy language. And it’s very entertaining.

It’s the story of Niko Bellic, an Eastern European who’s just arrived in America. As soon as he lands in Liberty City (which looks an awful lot like New York), he’s greeted by his cousin Roman, who’s been in America for 10 years. Roman has lured Niko with promises of glamour and riches, but all he really has to offer is a dilapidated apartment and a crummy job at a car service.

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