Sponsored by Google

A British travel company has paid 560,000 pounds ($1.1 mln) for the domain name cruises.co.uk, a price that is effectively $1 million just for the letter S since it already owns the address cruise.co.uk.

Web search leader Google Inc is planning to boost its presence in China by tying up with a Chinese online music company to provide free music downloads, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Skeptical investors are trading Yahoo Inc shares at a 6.5 percent discount to Microsoft Corp's unofficial offer price, but some Wall Streeters expect the software giant to raise its bid.

Rupert Murdoch, Chair of global media giant News Corporation, has said that he would not be making a rival bid for Yahoo, in response to Microsoft's $44.6 billion offer made last week.

Yahoo Inc would consider a business alliance with Google Inc as one way to rebuff a $44.6 billion takeover proposal by Microsoft, a source familiar with Yahoo's strategy said on Sunday. Yahoo management may revisit talks it held with Google several months ago as an alternative to Microsoft's bid.

Google launched a new application programming interface (API)on Friday that is designed to help developers make use of social networking relationship data.

U.S. stocks markets closed out the week on an up note on Friday, ending Wall Street's best performing week in nearly five years, after Microsoft Corp's $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo Inc pushing technology stocks ahead of other sectors.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is taking his company's $45 billion bid to acquire Internet portal Yahoo public after being rejected last year, saying it is in the best interest of both firms to better compete in the online market.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer believes Yahoo has not improved its competitiveness in the year since it proposed a merger and now believes the only alternative is to combine the companies in a deal worth $45 billion.

Microsoft Corp. made a move on Friday to bolster its Web operations against Internet search leader Google by making an unsolicited offer for Internet portal and search engine Yahoo, Inc. worth $31 per share, or $44.6 billion.

Google, Inc shares fell 7 percent on Thursday after Internet search leader reported profit and sales that came in below Wall Street expectations due in part to lower paid ad clicks, and struggles to monetize social networking ad inventories.

Google Inc's top three executives had pledged to work together for 20 years in a pact they made shortly before the company's initial public offering in August 2004, Fortune magazine has reported.

Yahoo Inc reported a drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday and its shares fell nearly 7 percent as Chief Executive Jerry Yang predicted a tough 2008 amid a weakening U.S. economy. Yahoo reported a fourth-quarter profit of $205.7 million, or 15 cents per share, down from $268.7 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago.

The arrival of a truly mobile Web, offering a new generation of location-based advertising, is set to unleash a huge revolution, Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Friday.

Baidu.com Inc led China's search engine market in last year's fourth quarter with a 60.1 percent share, research firm Analysys International said on Friday.

The online community MySpace sealed a deal BBC to display some of its programs on MySpaceTV in move to increase completion with major online video rival, YouTube.

Online streaming video is continuing to grow with viewers moving from 2 minute clips, to full length shows as media distributors place content in multiple platforms, media executives said on Wednesday.

Yahoo is poised to lay-off hundreds of workers, according to reports published Tuesday, as the internet icon strives to sharpen its focus and boost its sagging stock.

The European Union's data privacy regulators contradicted Google Inc. views on IP addresses and said they should be regarded as personal information, according to reports Monday.

Google.org, the popular search engine's philanthropic venture, said on Thursday it will fund more than $25 million in grants and investments. The funds will be used to fight climate change, poverty, global diseases and will support small businesses.

Wireless service provider Clearwire Corp said on Tuesday that it would offer its customers applications such as e-mail and calendar from Web search leader Google Inc.

Google, along with a set of other companies, was cleared by federal regulators to bid for a highly desired chunk of wireless spectrum on January 24.

Goggle launched an updated interface on Friday for the Apple iPhone which acts as a Google Control Panel, making it easy to switch between their popular services.

Internet Search Engine Wikia, a project from Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and his company Wikia launched today as a new competitor to major search engines such as Internet search leader Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.com.

A Silicon Valley startup re-ignited plans to offer free wireless Internet service in San Francisco, rekindling failed attempts by Google Inc. and Earthlink Inc., the company said Friday.

Google cleared a major regulatory hurdle on Thursday after the Federal Trade Commission, the US antitrust regulator, approved the Internet search giant’s bid to buy online advertising company, DoubleClick Inc.

Google Inc's planned takeover of rival DoubleClick for $3.1 billion would harm European citizens through greater intrusion of privacy, the EU's top consumer lobby BEUC said on Thursday.

More television viewers are turning to the Internet to watch videos, films and TV episodes, according to a new survey.

Microsoft Corporation, Google Inc., and Yahoo! pay fines amounted $31.5 million with the U.S to resolve claims on their past promotion of illegal gambling, United States attorney said Wednesday.