US car buffs get govt nod to 'jailbreak' software

New York

CAR owners in the United States can soon play Volkswagen engineer, courtesy of the federal government.

Last month, officials gave car enthusiasts who want to beef up their car's performance the right to tinker with vehicle software without incurring the legal wrath of carmakers. The decision was one of many changes to a federal copyright law, including allowing people to "jailbreak" their mobile phones and reprogram older video games.