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Angelina Jolie who is all set to get married to longtime partner Brad Pitt has picked her wedding date with the help of a Buddhist monk.

According to sources, the 37-year-old actress is expected to marry this summer and the star chose the top secret date with some spiritual help.

"Angie has used Buddhist astrology in the past to help her pick the best or most auspicious days for important moments in her life," Contactmusic quoted a source as telling the National Enquirer magazine.

"She's relied on the Buddhist calendar to plan medical procedures and vacations for herself, Brad and the kids. She's even used it for picking the dates of her movie openings.

"That's when Angie was completely converted to Buddhist astrology and she's not taking that chance with Brad. Angie is convinced the date of their union will guarantee their future happiness," the source said.

According to friends, Pitt with whom Jolie raises six children, is happy to go along with whatever the actress thinks and says that she can take her time with choosing the date.

"Brad just goes with the flow. He told Angie to take as much time as she needs.

"After eight years and six kids together, they clearly aren't rushing into marriage," the source added.

Developers and gaming companies see the social-networking giant's new app-discovery platform as a boon for business.

In a move that is sure to make many app developers happy, Facebook this week launched its App Center, which aims to help users find apps to use on Facebook.com, iOS, Android, and the Web.

The new platform let users can browse apps by category and find out which apps their friends are using. The discovery platform already boasts 600 apps, including Draw Something, Shazam, Pinterest, and Viddy.

“The App Center helps high-quality apps grow by promoting those that people enjoy the most,” Bruce Rogers, a programmer at Facebook, said on the company’s developer blog. Facebook originally announced plans for the App Center last month.

The App Center isn't really a marketplace as much as it is a search tool--think more Yelp than iTunes. Each app gets its own profile page, complete with ratings, reviews, images, and a list of all the users’ friends who have downloaded the app. When logged onto Facebook on the Web, users can browse apps by categories like News or Travel, then send a notification to their phone, where the install page in the Apple Store or Google Play center will automatically appear.

That is where the real promise lies, says Bo Fishback, co-founder and CEO of Zaarly, a mobile app that lets users buy and sell goods and services to people nearby.

“The cool thing for us is, it will help to bridge the Web-to-mobile divide,” Fishback says. “We’re a heavily mobile company, but we also have a Web presence. If you’re on the Web, the chances of you discovering us accidentally is not very high.”

Other start-ups are more excited about the prospect of getting their apps in front of the eyes of Facebook’s 900 million users without having to shell out thousands of dollars in advertising.

“We’re a bootstrapped indie developer,” says Thomas Chung, vice president and general manager at Playforge, which makes interactive games like Zombie Farm and Tree World. “That means mean we don’t throw gobs of money at the problem of getting our games discovered. We think the App Center will strongly facilitate word-of-mouth discovery for quality games.”

Chung said Playforge submitted its app to the App Center last week, and there was only one pain point: having to submit artwork that is inconsistent with the specs for the Apple App Store, where the developer sells most of its games.

“It would make it much more seamless if there were more overlap on that aspect,” Chung says. “But of course, we are still grateful for any new channels that would give more affordable or free mobile distribution.”

Normally, a new version of EA Sports' Madden Football is an E3 non-event. Not so at E3 2012: in fact, it became a sort of poster-child for future-forward gaming.

Admittedly, the second-screen Madden prototypes on Xbox SmartGlass shown briefly at Microsoft's press conference aren't real (yet), but Madden 13 does feature integrated Kinect features and completely new player physics, dubbed Infinity Engine.

The most interesting part of the Madden's Kinect feature-set is that it doesn't use the camera: instead, it relies on voice commands as a way of controlling pre-snap adjustments on offense and defense. Joe Montana seemed to pull it off well during Microsoft's keynote, but I needed proof. I tried it in a relatively quiet E3 show floor booth, and it not only worked, but it could end up being a feature I actually use.

EA Sports reps say that Madden 13 recognizes up to 6,000 words. Like Kinect controls on the Xbox 360, a menu of accepted words for the given situation appear on-screen: Audible, Line, and so on. Individual players can be called by name, and a second menu appears with options. You call appropriate moves by voice, instead of browsing menus with a control pad.

Why is this useful? Before a snap, there are enough parts of a game to pay attention to without pulling up sub-menus. My problem with Siri on the iPhone has always been that its voice recognition takes time to figure out what works and what doesn't. The Kinect cheats the system by offering you direct command suggestions, eliminating the guessing.

It looks like voice commands could shave an extra click or three, maybe even saving a precious few seconds. If that's the case, then Kinect voice command could catch on quickly. Also, let's face it: it just feels cool to bark out audibles like a stressed-out QB. Once in a while, the Kinect had a hard time understanding me, but the moments were few and far between.

The new physics may matter even more. I played Madden 13 in New York a few months ago before the Infinity Engine physics were implemented, and the difference could be felt in my half of a Jets-Patriots game. Broken tackles are now more of a living struggle than a set of preordained animations, and running backs and linemen push off and roll into open space with a more kinetic flow. Physics are hard to describe on paper, but a slow-motion instant replay of a linebacker tackle on a running back revealed body motions that looked utterly real. (And, yes, I tried a few plays with Tebow, but I realized I'm absolutely terrible at executing the Wildcat.)

Oh, and in my first game with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms as commentators, I have to admit I like the move.

Madden 13 comes out August 28, and I can't remember the last time I was this interested to play.

Facebook's first ever public vote on privacy changes came to a close today. The result was a landslide — nearly 87% of those voting preferred the existing Facebook privacy terms to the new terms first proposed this May. With such a mandate, you can be sure that Facebook's privacy settings will stay the same, right? Well ... no, not quite.

Facebook had announced that the public decision would be binding if 30% of Facebook users took the time to vote and make their opinions heard. What percentage of Facebook users participated in this poll? Why, glad you asked — just 0.038%, about one in every 2,600 Facebook users.

Turnout was indeed abysmal, but to be fair, Facebook's 30% hurdle guaranteed that the vote would be non-binding. After all, only 37.8% of those who were of age to vote did so in the 2010 U.S. midterm elections. And if people can't be bothered to vote for something as important as control of the country, how can you expect a similar proportion to vote on something as relatively obscure as a privacy policy, especially when a large part of Facebook's user base is under 18?

There's no word yet whether Facebook will truly take the opinion of the 0.038% into advisement. In the meantime, though, we'd strongly suggest you take a moment to review your own privacy settings on the site.

BRUSSELS  - Google has yet to offer EU regulators concessions to address concerns it may have abused its market dominance, the EU's antitrust chief said on Thursday, raising the prospects of a bruising battle between the two sides.

 Nearly three weeks ago, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia offered the world's most popular search engine a last chance to settle the 18-month long probe and avoid a fine that could reach up to 10 percent of the company's global turnover.

 Asked on Thursday if Google had responded to his ultimatum, Almunia told Reuters: "Nothing from Google yet, we are waiting for a reply from Google."

 Almunia, who had previously said he had given the company several weeks to reply, declined to comment on speculation that the Commission has set a July 2 deadline for Google.

 "It's a question of weeks," he said, speaking on the sidelines of the European State Aid Law Institute conference.

 Google spokesman Al Verney said the company was "engaging co-operatively with the Commission".

 Google, with about 86 percent of the European search market, could be hit with formal charges in a so-called statement of objections if it does not come up with concessions, which could curb its bargaining power.

 Almunia said last month that an 18-month investigation showed Google may have favored its own search services over rivals and may have copied travel and restaurant reviews from competing sites without their permission.

 He also said Google's advertising deals with websites may have blocked its rivals and that restrictions on advertisers from moving their online campaigns to rival search engines were a concern.

 Two days later, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt gave little indication he felt the need to compromise.

 "We disagree that we are in violation, until they are more precise on what area of the law we are in violation of. Give us the precise data, the precise problem," he was quoted by the Financial Times and Guardian newspapers as saying at an event in southern England.

 The European Commission launched a probe into Google in November 2010 after rivals, including Microsoft, accused the Internet search firm of manipulating search results and promoting its own services while demoting theirs.

 The Commission has received 16 complaints to date, with the latest lodged by several online travel and booking agencies such as TripAdvisor, Opodo and eDreams.

 The majority of complainants are small competitors across Europe. U.S. enforcers are also looking at the group, which controls more than two-thirds of the global search market.

 In separate investigations, EU privacy regulators are scrutinizing Google's new privacy policy, which came into effect on March 1.

NEW DELHI  - An Indian businessman was charged on Saturday with attempting to bribe government officials in connection with allegations that Swiss-based Rheinmetall Air Defence AG paid him $530,000 to use his influence to stop the company from being blacklisted.

Abhishek Verma and his wife were arrested on Friday after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched raids on 10 properties in and around New Delhi, including the home of a former Rheinmetall representative in India. The CBI said in a statement that it was investigating both Verma and the company.

Verma and his wife, Anca Neacsu, were charged in a New Delhi court under the Prevention of Corruption Act and face up to five years in prison if convicted. The magistrate ordered the couple to remain in custody for seven days for further questioning.

Earlier this year Rheinmetall Air Defence, part of Rheinmetall AG (RHM.DE), a German automotive parts and defence group, was placed on a blacklist of arms firms banned from doing business in India following corruption allegations that it strongly denied.

India's Defence Ministry has put in place strict guidelines for arms deals in an effort to crack down on bribery and corruption at a time when Asia's third-largest economy is on a weapons-buying spree to modernise its military. India is the world's largest arms buyer.

Documents provided to the CBI by C. Edmonds Allen, an American and a former business associate of Verma, show a $530,000 credit transfer from Rheinmetall to a New York bank account belonging to a U.S.-based company, Ganton Limited, which the CBI alleges was owned by Verma.

The documents, which have been made public, include a purchase order for "consultancy services" from Rheinmetall for the same amount.

A representative of Rheinmetall in New Delhi told Reuters she would seek an official company response to the CBI investigation but that it would be difficult to get because it was the weekend. There was no immediate response from Rheinmetall officials in Switzerland or Germany.

The company said in March it was willing to cooperate fully with the Indian authorities and would "do everything in its power" to refute the corruption allegations. It complained that India had yet to give it details about the alleged wrongdoing that led to it being blacklisted.

The CBI said in a statement that Verma had contacted Rheinmetall after the agency accused it of "adopting corrupt and illegal means" to obtain a contract to supply the Indian military with a 35 mm revolver gun air defence system. He had assured them that he could influence government officials to stall the blacklisting process, it said.

Check out how Peter Thiel used classic chess strategy to make money.

Through notes from Peter Thiel's CS183: Startup class at Stanford University, we have a unique window into the mind of the venture capitalist and hedge fund manager. He's fascinated with human nature, and integrates what he learned from his former career as a chess master into his lectures.

Chess is a contained universe: there are only 32 pieces on the board and 64 squares those pieces can occupy. But starting up a company takes much more than raw intellectual ability; it requires what Thiel calls "The Mechanics of Mafia," or the understanding of complex human dynamics. Linking the two worlds is Thiel's passion. Here are some of the chess concepts he highlighted in his class, thanks to notes from one of his former students, Blake Masters:

Know the relative value of your pieces.

In chess, the queen is the most valuable piece on the board. In the standard valuation system, it is given a 9, whereas the rook (5), bishop (3), knight (3), and pawn (1) are lower. In his lecture Value Systems, Thiel mentions Guy Kawasaki’s equation [from a deliberately provocative presentation about the merits of MBAs for startups – Yahoo! Eds] on how to assess the value of a company based on the types of people you have:

Pre-money valuation = ($1M x Number of Engineers) – ($500k x Number of MBAs).

So engineers are more valuable pieces than MBAs.

From his lecture If You Build It, Will They Come? Thiel points out that within any group, there is a wide range of talent. This goes for engineering as much as it goes for sales. “Engineering is transparent … It is fairly easy to evaluate how good someone is. Are they a good coder? An ubercoder? Things are different with sales. Sales isn’t very transparent at all. We are tempted to lump all salespeople in with vacuum cleaner salesmen, but really there is a whole set of gradations. There are amateurs, mediocrities, experts, masters, and even grandmasters.”

“But if you don’t believe that sales grandmasters exist, you haven’t met Elon [Musk]. He managed to get $500m in government grants for building rockets, which is SpaceX, and also for building electric cars, which is done by his other company, Tesla.”

The take-away lesson: Just like with chess pieces, people are not of equal value when it comes to your organization. You must be able to accurately assess their value. And within any field there are amateurs, mediocrities, experts, masters, and grandmasters.

Know how your pieces work best together.

In his lecture The Mechanics of Mafia Thiel discusses two personality types: “nerds” and “athletes.” “Engineers and STEM people tend to be highly intelligent, good at problem solving, and naturally non zero-sum. Athletes tend to be highly-motivated fighters; you only win if the other guy loses.” A company made up of only athletes will be biased toward competing. A company made up of only nerds will ignore the situations where you have to fight. “So you have to strike the right balance between nerds and athletes.”

The take-away lesson: You need some athletes to protect your nerds when it’s time to fight.

Know the phases of the game and have a plan.

In chess, there are three phases: the opening, the middle game and the end game.

From his lecture Value Systems Thiel notes: “People often talk about ‘first mover advantage.’ But focusing on that may be problematic; you might move first then fade away. The danger there is that you simply aren’t around to succeed, even if you do end up creating value. More important than being the first mover is the last mover. You have to be durable. In this one particular at least, business is like chess. Grandmaster Jose Raul Capablanca put it very well: to succeed ‘you must study the endgame before anything else.’”

From his lecture War and Peace: “A good intermediate lesson in chess is that even a bad plan is better than no plan at all. Having no plan is chaotic. And yet people default to no plan.”

Take away lesson: Moving first isn’t always an advantage. Think about poker. If you’re the last to bet, you have the most information. The endgame is where the most decisive moves are made. Study it and make sure you’re around at the right time to make your move. Have a plan.

Talent matters; there is more to success than luck.

In chess, talent clearly matters. In business and life, both talent and luck matter.

From his lecture You Are Not A Lottery Ticket, Thiel said that “when we know that someone successful is skilled, we tend to discount that or not talk about it. There’s always a large role for luck. No one is allowed to show how he actually controlled everything.”

In his lecture If You Build It, Will They Come? Thiel explained that "since the best people tend to make the best companies, the founders or one or two key senior people at any multimillion-dollar company should probably spend between 25 percent and 33 percent of their time identifying and attracting talent.”

Take away lesson: Some people hold more value and control more resources than you realize. Invest your time in finding those talented people for your organization.

Chess is a brutal mental game. So is life. Make your moves carefully.

According to chess grandmaster Danny King's interview with 60 Minutes, “Chess is a really brutal game. I think because it’s so contained. It’s all going on in the head. And if you lose to your opponent, you feel stupid. You can call someone all the names under the sun, but if you call someone stupid, that’s the worst thing you can say to another human being. And that’s a bit what it feels like when you lose a game of chess. It’s all intellectual.”

Take away lesson: In the words of King: “You can’t take your moves back. Once you play your move you could be stepping into some horrible trap.”