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Take That, Microsoft: Yahoo Begins Trial Of Google Service — In the latest twist in its ongoing takeover battle with Microsoft, Yahoo said Wednesday it will begin a test running Google ads alongside Yahoo’s own search results. The two-week trial of Google’s AdSense for Search service will be limited to no more than 3% of Yahoo search queries, and will not include the company’s network of affiliate or premium publisher partners.

AOL To Launch PubAccess Self-Service Tool — In a bid to draw more publishers into its Advertising.com ad network, AOL next week plans to launch a self-service tool for small Web publishers to sell and manage ads on their sites. With the new PubAccess service, site owners can tap into Ad.com’s large base of online advertisers, and will have control over which ads appear on their properties. The launch of the manual tool comes amid reports that Ad.com is in the process of cutting its sales force in half at the behest of Lynda Clarizio, who recently transitioned from president of Ad.com to run AOL’s broader ad-network group, Platform A.

News Corp and AOL Vie For Yahoo! Takeover Stake — Microsoft is in talks with News Corp about joining its bid for internet giant Yahoo!, reports The New York Times. The talks come at the same time as separate reports claim Yahoo! is nearing terms with AOL, in a deal that would block Microsoft’s takeover attempts. In a surprise move, News Corp is in discussion with Microsoft and is at a “sensitive stage” of talks says the NY Times, which cites people involved in the discussions. One source reportedly says: “There’s a long way to go before anything is definite”. However, a deal between is close to being agreed in which AOL would merge into Yahoo!, paying 20% for the merged entity, claims a counter report in the Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, Yahoo! would reportedly use the funds to buy back stock from shareholders who may be set to back Microsoft’s offer.

Yahoo!’s Flickr Expands Into Video — Yahoo! will show user-generated videos on its photo-sharing site, Flickr. For a USD24.95 per-year subscription, members will be able to upload videos of up to 90 seconds. Videos will be available for all Flickr users to view, unless the author chooses to restrict the access. As the site is primarily designed for families and friend’s groups, Flickr recommends users to filter their videos, adding that accounts will be terminated if inappropriate content is uploaded. The firm says that videos which violate copyright laws will also be deleted. The service will be available in English and seven other languages: French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and traditional Chinese.

Microsoft Selects Israel’s Kontera To Power Ads On LinkedIn — Microsoft will use technology by Israeli startup Kontera to power in-text ads on LinkedIn’s Q&A section. Microsoft, which serves ads across the social network for professionals, will use Kontera’s technology to provide ads and related content that appear on the Q&A section when users mouse over a highlighted keyword. “When we founded Kontera, it was clear that advertising would be one possible application of our contextual analysis technology,” Kontera CEO Yoav Shalom tells Israeli business publication, Globes Online. Kontera has raised around USD17.3m funding since its launch, from investors that include Sequoia Capital, Lehman Brothers and Carmel Ventures. Its key product is ContentLink, which identifies the keywords in online text, such as in articles and news stories, and links them to relevant advertising or other content.

Intel Capital To Spend USD500m On Chinese Startups — Intel Capital is setting up its second fund in China. Intel Capital China Technology Fund II will focus on startups, targeting wireless broadband, media, technology, telecoms and clean tech ventures that can complement and expand Intel’s own efforts in China. The USD500m fund is already investing undisclosed sums in videogame platform provider Holdfast Online Technology and Newauto Video Technology, which develops equipment as well as network and editing solutions for TV stations. Intel, which in 2005 spent USD200m to set up its first fund in China, is increasingly looking abroad for investments. Last year, foreign deals accounted for 37% of the total USD639m that it invested across the world - a figure which it expects to rise. The company claims to have invested in more than 70 companies across China and Hong Kong since 1998.

Ad Network aCerno Unveils Technology To Distinguish Itself — Ad network aCerno is stepping out from behind the curtains today with some behaviorally predictive ad-targeting technology to distinguish itself in a crowded market. A wholly owned subsidiary of database marketing company i-behavior, aCerno has been in operation for more than two years, building a network that now reaches nearly 100% of U.S. online shoppers, according to eMarketer. The aCerno network, according to its CEO Tom Sperry, “creates brand consideration, drives transactions and anticipates what consumers will buy next, based on actual shopping and purchase data.”

Kiptronic To Power Ads In Adobe’s New Media Player — Kiptronic has partnered with Adobe to provide the dynamic ad insertion technology for the new Adobe Media Player. The digital media player brings network TV quality video to the Web, and Kiptronic’s technology (including the Media Services Platform and OpsCenter management tools) allows producers to schedule, insert and track various campaigns across their entire Adobe Media Player-hosted content library.

Yahoo Sports Adds Content From GrindTV — Yahoo Sports is pumping up its programming with content from GrindTV, a video site featuring “action sports” including skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding and motocross. The new co-branded GrindTV channel will add 1 million extra viewers to the section, according to Yahoo. The channel will feature video from action sports filmmakers and brands, as well as original footage from GrindTV Productions. Editorial content will include special features, event information and expert blog posts.

AOL, TheStreet.com Ink Longer, More Extensive Content Partnership — Aol and TheStreet.com extended the terms of their content-sharing deal by three years. The new agreement also increases the amount of content from TheStreet.com’s network of sites like TheStreet.com and MainStreet.com that will be featured on AOL. The content will run across AOL Money & Finance sites like BloggingStocks.com, as well as relevant general interest properties.

Panache Delivers Ads Into Video On Adobe Media Player — Panache will deliver advertising into video on Adobe’s new media player formally debuting today. Panache will serve video ads in CBS shows including “CSI,” “Big Brother,” and “Survivor” which are distributed online using the Adobe Media Player. CBS is one of Adobe’ s media partners, which also include CBS’s parent, Viacom, and PBS. Panache’s technology lets video providers deliver ads regardless of the technology being used. That includes formats spanning Flash, Microsoft’s Silverlight, IPTV platforms, and tru2way cable TV set-top boxes.

Fact Monster Selects GoFish Corp. Ad Network — GoFish Corp. agreed to be the exclusive advertising partner for Fact Monster, an education site targeting the “tween” demographic. GoFish will provide content-appropriate advertising support for Fact Monster, a reference site designed to provide tweens with educational tools and homework assistance, and will help it build properties that support immersive advertising experiences and promotional opportunities.

Despite CPC Increases, Search Continues Its Rise — Search is chewing up other media budgets, according to the latest Search Engine Marketing: User and Spending Trends report from eMarketer. According to the online marketing research firm’s analysts, “Even as some marketers rein in spending to hedge against further economic problems, search engine marketing (SEM) is in great shape–at least for the moment.” EMarketer is predicting U.S. search marketing spending to top $13.6 billion this year, slightly lower than SEMPO’s prediction of $15.7 billion. And search marketers seem to be comfortable maintaining or increasing their spend, even as average CPCs trend upward.

Wal-Mart Dumps DRM — US retailer Wal-Mart is abandoning DRM for all of the music downloads offered on its online store. The company’s new all-MP3 policy will involve its entire library, including tracks from EMI and Universal Music Group. Both companies had previously supplied songs to the DRM-free area of Wal-Mart’s web store. Wal-Mart has yet to reach online distribution agreements with Warner Music Group and Sony BMG. Wal-Mart’s decision to rid itself of DRM follows moves by Apple, Amazon.com, MySpace and several other online music retailers that have embraced, or are moving towards, DRM-free downloads. iTunes was the US’s biggest music retailer in Jan, having overtaken Wal-Mart’s combined physical and digital sales for the first time.

AOL Secures Rights To Carry ESPN Video — Distinguishing itself further from other content portals, AOL has secured rights to carry ESPN video directly on AOL Video and AOL Sports. AOL is the first portal to carry ESPN content, which will include highlights from games and major sporting events as well as ESPN original programming clips. For ESPN, an expanded reach online equals the potential for greater ad revenue.”Our advertisers benefit from a larger online video audience,” said Matt Murphy, senior vice president, digital video distribution at ESPN. “The potential is tremendous.”

Google App Engine Launches: Goes Directly After Amazon — MG at VentureBeat has details on a new product launch tonight from Google called the “Google App Engine” (link will work after midnight). MG notes, “With this new release, Google is aiming squarely at Amazon Web Services (AWS), specifically the popular Simple Storage Service (S3), SimpleDB and Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) services.” Brady notes that the app must be in Python for now. The first 10,000 developers to signup using the link above at midnight will get access to the Google App Engine. The accounts come with enough free power to handle up to five million pageviews a month. Pricing past that has not been release as of yet. You know it’s the crack model - give them a bit for free so they get hooked for life.

Roo Group Rebrands As KIT Digital — Online video provider Roo Group has rebranded as KIT digital following its takeover by former JumpTV executive Kaleil Isaza Tuzman last December. The name change to KIT–an acronym that stands for “Knowledge, Imagination and Technology”–is meant to reflect changes under Tuzman aimed at refocusing on the company’s core business of providing video services to companies across the entertainment, financial, automotive and other industries. KIT allows clients to publish, manage and distribute digital video content, as well as tap its 100 syndicated video channels and 40,000 syndicated videos for content. KIT CEO and Chairman Tuzman previously said a key change for the company would be to focus on delivering live streams instead of video-on-demand for third-party sites.

Gorilla Nation Launches GNMulticultural Vertical Market — Gorrila Nation Launches GNMulticultural, its newest vertical market aggregating dozens of leading Web properties servicing the African-American and Latino communities. The company will target and sign premium Web properties that cater to multicultural audiences to augment its existing offering of African-American sites such as Mocha City (www.mochacity.com), Bossip (www.bossip.com) and ClutchMagOnline (www.clutchmagonline.com); and Latino sites such as Lossip (www.lossip.com), LaMusica (www.lamusica.com) and VivirLatino (www.vivirlatino.com).

Online To Overtake TV In The UK In 2009 — Incredibly, Internet ad spending is on pace to overtake television as the biggest advertising medium in the UK by the end of next year, according to the latest report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Advertising Research Centre. The report said that spending last year grew 38 percent to $5.6 billion, thanks to the introduction of cheap laptops, an increase in television content online and an overall increase in Web penetration. “With broadband speeds on the up and consumers spending more time on more sites, the outlook for online advertising is rosy–in fact, we expect it to overtake TV in 2009 when it will become the UK’s biggest medium,” IAB chief executive Guy Phillipson said in a statement. TV spending in the UK was $8.02 billion last year, followed by print advertising, which was $7.33 billion.

Zucker: Hulu.com Sold Out, Talks With Media Giants Ongoing — NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker was proud to announce that ad inventory on Hulu.com–the joint content distribution venture from News Corp. and NBC Universal–had sold out, although more ad opportunities were being created. Zucker, speaking at the International Advertising Association’s 41st annual World Congress in Washington on Monday, said that advertisers were interested in the site because they have more assurance that the content is professionally produced and appropriate for all audiences. “Advertisers want to be on something where you know what you get and not on something where you could be advertising [next to a video of] a cat on a skateboard,” he said, referring to the kind of videos one might see on video-sharing sites like YouTube. Zucker added that negotiations to add more traditional content producers to Hulu were ongoing. “I am hopeful that [CBS, Viacom and Disney] will be part of it in the years ahead,” he said, adding that Hulu partners don’t have to provide the site with exclusive rights to their content.

60 Percent Of Large Companies To Cut Marketing Budgets — Marketing execs polled by MarketingSherpa for its “Marketing During An Economic Downturn (pdf)” report are giving a version of a theme we’ve heard a lot of, lately. The storyline: big marketers are cutting back overall budgets this year, but not not online spending, which is being largely left intact or getting a small increase in 2008.Total budgets down: 60% of large companies had either cut or are planning to cut marketing budgets 2008, the survey says, compared to 29% of midsized marketers and only 13% of small ones. Only 16% of big marketers said they were increasing budgets, and 19% reported no change.Online budgets flat, or up slightly: 38% said they planned to increase online spending, while 45% said online spending would stay the same in 2008.

Microsoft Delivers Ultimatum to Yahoo! — Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has given Yahoo! three weeks to begin bargaining in good faith or face a hostile takeover. In a letter sent to Yahoo!’s board of directors, Ballmer claims that his company’s initial bid to acquire Yahoo! at a 62% premium to its closing price on 31 Jan was “generous”. He adds that if the companies fail to reach an agreement within the next three weeks, “we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo! board”. Ballmer also indicated that if Yahoo! continues to stall, Microsoft might lower its offer, initially valued at USD44.6 bn, or USD31 a share. Analyst consensus is that the two companies will eventually reach a deal priced at around USD35bn.

Yahoo Promises to ‘Amp’ Up Ad Platform — In conjunction with its rejection of Microsoft’s latest demands, Yahoo on Monday released more details about an upgrade to its advertising system. Called “Amp,” the upgrade is part of the Web giant’s continued efforts to try and convince shareholders that remaining independent is a more valuable option than combining with Microsoft. “Amp,” like AOL’s Platform A and Microsoft’s adCenter before it, is an attempt to become a “one-stop shop” for Web advertising buyers. It won’t be available until some time this summer, and even then on a limited basis among Yahoo’s more than 600 newspaper partner sites. Yahoo began promoting the system on Monday through an online video presentation.

News Corp Raises Stake in Germany’s Premiere — News Corp today has raised its stake in German pay-TV operator Premiere to 22.7%, nearing the 23% threshold that would give it a controlling majority. Premiere holds the rights to broadcast live games from Germany’s top football league, the Bundesliga, which is probably the main reason behind News Corp’s interest. Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate first acquired a 14.58% stake in Premiere in Jan, and upped it to 19.9% a month later. Last week, News Corp said it would accept a seat on the supervisory board of Premiere. The US firm may ask for it at Premiere’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Jun 12. The German TV’s board is currently made up of three members in charge until 2009. Shareholders, however, may vote to expand it with a New Corp representative.

Offline Stores Big Winners From Online Ads, Says comScore — Physical stores, rather than online retailers, are emerging as the biggest winners of online advertising, says comScore CEO Magid Abraham. Abraham says comScore research shows that businesses that operate primarily in bricks and mortar stores but use online advertising and online sales portals have seen impressive increases in walk-in trade as opposed to online sales and services. comScore admits that the results of its research are based on an opt-in approach to gathering data and are therefore limited in scope. However, Abraham says the recent results, including information from a major retailer that sees more than USD15bn in annual revenues, are noteworthy.

Fox Interactive Media In Corporate Reshuffle AsRevenues Falter — Fox Interactive Media (FIM) is to undergo a series of restructuring efforts as fiscal year revenue is expected to come in approximately USD100m under its USD1bn target, reports TechCrunch. The News Corp-owned online division, responsible for MySpace, will lose chief revenue officer Michael Barrett as advertising is split into a separate division and sales are moved into a number of targeted teams. FIM is setting up a separate advertising unit called The FIM Audience Network, which will use its targeting and optimisation technologies to serve ads on all FIM’s sites. This will be run by FIM’s former VP of production and technology, Adam Bain. The company claims the new division will help FIM offer better ad solutions, and will bring together its technology, operations and ad sales teams.

NBC Launches New WebisodeIn Online Push — NBCU is due to launch a number of short online ‘webisodes’ this summer to coincide with the return of three of its popular shows. Short original episodes of ‘The Office’ and ‘Chuck’ will debut from Jul, as part of a wider digital push to offer further online content for its TV titles. In Oct the US TV giant is due to launch an original web-based series called ‘Fears, Secrets and Desires’. This will be based around user-submitted clips in which viewers reveal their personal hopes and secrets. Shows such as ‘30 Rock’ are due to carry a blog on the NBC site written from the perspective of its lead character, while other shows will encourage online fan interaction by letting viewers upload clips impersonating parts of the show.

Prime TV On the Net. See PrimeTimeRewind.com –The dream of some TV network executives is to have one site where consumers can get all network programming–the original intent of Hulu.com, the NBC-Fox Internet TV platform. One recently launched Internet site has a better idea. PrimeTimeRewind.com uses the free video links of every available full-length network program and presents those shows in an easier format for consumers to access.

Stereogum To Launch Videogum As Result Of Buzznet Acquisition — Pop culture and music community Buzznet has completed the acquisition of music blog Stereogum for close to $5 million in stock. As a result of the acquisition, Stereogum on Tuesday plans to launch Videogum, a new entertainment blog focused on what’s happening in the world of pop culture programming, including television, movies, Web shorts and video games.

Project Agape (f.k.a. Philotic) Raised $5 Million in Series B — Berkeley, Calif.-based developer of a website for furthering political or social causes, has raised $5 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. The only listed institutional shareholder is Founders Fund, which had provided the company with $2.35 million in Series A funding. One of Project Agape’s founders is Sean Parker, who also is a Founders Fund partner.

WePlay Inc. Raised $4.4 Million in Series A — New York-based online community for youth sports, has raised $4.4 million in Series A funding.peHUB had previously reported a smaller figure, based on a regulatory filing. Pequot Ventures provided $3.5 million, while the remainder came from Derek Jeter, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, WePlay senior management and angel investor Ron Conway.

Blue Kai Inc. Raised $3.18 Million in Series A — Bellevue, Wash.-based developer of an online market data exchange, has raised $3.18 million in Series A funding, according to a regulatory filing. Redpoint Ventures led the round, with partners Chris Moore and Fouad ElNaggar taking board seats.

Publish2 Inc. Raised $2.75 Million in Series A — Reston, Va.-based developer of an online news aggregation platform, has raised $2.75 million in Series A funding from Velocity Interactive Group.

Razz Inc. Raised $1.87 Million of A $2.5 Million Series B Round — San Francisco–based content service provider of audio entertainment for mobile content and social network users, has called down $1.87 million of a $2.5 million Series B round. Shareholders include Mayfield, Cardinal Venture Capital, Garage Technology Ventures and Greenpark Capital.

Undertone Networks Raised VC Funding — New York–based online advertising network, has raised an undisclosed amount of VC funding from JMI Equity. It also raised leveraged financing led by Orix Venture Finance.

AdGent 007 Closes $5.3 Million in 1st Round — CM Capital Investments led a $5.3 million 1st round of financing for AdGent 007. The company provides global advertising services for online publishers.

Mobile Digital Media Raised $2 Million Recapitalization — Milpitas, Calif.-based Mobile Digital Media, a maker of software to develop mobile games, has raised $2 million from Cross Atlantic Partners and Sofinnova Partners.

ScaleMP Raised $8 Million In New VC funding — Cupertino, Calif.-based provider of virtualization solutions for high-end computing, has raised $8 million in new VC funding. Return backers include Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, TL Ventures and ABS Ventures.

Reality Digital Inc. Raised $6.3 Million In Series B — San Francisco-based provider of social media solutions for businesses, has raised $6.3 million in Series B funding from OpenView Venture Partners.

Mobango Ltd. Raised $5.7 Million In Second-Round Funding — London-based mobile social network, has raised $5.7 million in second-round funding. Innogest Capital led the roun, and was joined by Innogest SGR and return backer Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures.

Attributor Raised $12 million in Series C — Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of online content licensing technology, has raised $12 million in Series C funding. Jafco Ventures and Turner Broadcasting were joined by return backers Amicus Capital, Draper Richards, First Round Capital and Selby Venture Partners.

Xoopit Raises $5 Million First Round — Xoopit, a social networking service based around email, has raised a $5 million first round from Accel Partners and Foundation Capital.

Loomia Gets $5 Million Dollar First Round — Loomia, the maker of the SeenThis app for social content discovery, has raised a $5 million first round from Asset Management Company, as well as strategic investors Peacock Equity and Telefónica Capital S.A.U.

Metaboli Raised EUR5m (USD7.82m) — French videogames distributor and platform Metaboli plans to upgrade its service after raising EUR5m (USD7.82m). Existing investors including Intel Capital and French investment firms, Innovacom, Alven Capital, Nicominvest and I-Source Gestion provided the funding.

Vlingo Raised $20MM Series B — Voice-powered mobile software firm Vlingo has raised USD20m in a Series B funding round led by Yahoo!. Existing investors Sigma Partners and Charles River Ventures also took part in the round.

Coremetrics Inc. Raised $60 Million in Series E — San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of digital marketing optimization solutions, has raised $60 million in Series E funding. 3i Group led the round, and was joined by return backers Accel Partners, FTVentures and Highland Capital Partners.

Yardbarker Raised $6 Million in Series B — Emeryville, Calif.-based online sports community and branded vertical ad network, has raised $6 million in Series B funding. Draper Fisher Jurvetson led the round, with Josh Stein taking a board seat.

Flixster Inc.Called Down $5 Million Of An $8 Million Series B — film-centric social network, has called down $5 million of an $8 million Series B round, according to a regulatory filing. Pinnacle Ventures was joined by return backer Lightspeed Venture Partners.

OurStage Raised $13 Million In Angel Funding — OurStage, a startup that likens itself to an online version of American Idol, has raised over $13 million from over 100 angels, according to a Tech Confidential piece examining the unique nature of their fund raising.

Sampa Raised $1 Million Angel Funding — Sampa, a Seattle-based service for families to create websites, has raised a $1 million angel round from investor Geoff Entress and unidentified former execs of Microsoft, Netscape and Lightsurf, according to Seattle PI.

Redux Raised $6.5 Million Second Round — Social networker Redux has raised a $6.5 million second round from DFJ and past backer Alsop Louie according to peHUB. The company previously raised $1.65 million from Alsop Louie and investor Peter Thiel, for a total raise of $7.1 million.

MySpace Music Transforms Social Network From Promotional To Commercial — Confirming weeks of rumors, MySpace on Thursday outlined its big plans for MySpace Music, which will be jointly operated by Universal Music Group, Sony BMG and Warner Music Group. The ambitious service, slated to roll out over the next several months, will offer free ad-supported streaming audio and video files, DRM-free MP3 downloads, and ringtones, along with a host of e-commerce offerings from brand merchandise to tickets. MySpace Music will span the entire MySpace network, including its Music home page, artist profile pages, and individual member profiles. Members will be able to personalize their music content, create playlists, stream songs from their profiles, and link to the work of favorite artists.

Fox Interactive Restructures Sales Organization, Unveils Ad Network — News Corp. this morning announced a restructuring of its Fox Interactive Media unit, including the launch of a long-awaited online advertising network, and the departure of long-time Chief Revenue Officer Michael Barrett, as it flattens out its interactive sales organization. Adam Bain was named president of the new online ad network, dubbed Fox Interactive Media Audience Network, which will combine inventory across Fox’s existing interactive content network with that of third-party publishers. The company said the network would leverage Fox’s HyperTargeting technology, as well as its proprietary ad-serving platform.

Zillow Launches Mortgage Marketplace Offering Custom Loan Quotes — Real estate website zillow.com has launched a mortgage marketplace offering borrowers an anonymous way to request custom loan quotes directly from registered lenders. In turn, lenders can respond at no cost to an unlimited number of loan quote requests directly from borrowers. Zillow Mortgage Marketplace attempts to extend Zillow into another facet of home ownership, and includes a lender public feedback system where borrowers rate the lenders they choose to contact.

Gartner Outlines How Digital Can Survive Recession — Faced with an economy spiraling downward into recession and online spending at risk, what’s an Internet executive to do? Restate the case for digital media, make the most of existing assets, rethink your ad strategy and cut costs. Those are the steps prescribed by Gartner in a new report that serves as a sort of survival guide for online businesses during the downturn. Rather than lying low, digital bosses should reiterate the long-term value of new media to traditional media companies. “New media should be seen as an integral part of the overall strategy, rather than a collection of strange and risky new ventures that can be cut when budgets are tight,” Daum wrote.

Craigslist Valuation: $80 Million in 2008 Revenue, Worth $5 Billion — Why is Craigslist worth more than meets the eye? Because it’s run like a non-profit. Craig Newmark and co. don’t give a damn about generating revenue or profit, and more power to them. But if Craig ever want to sell Craigslist, he’d probably want to get something closer to true value for it–which means we need to think about the company’s real earning power. ClickZ has summarized a recent report from Classified Intelligence: 2007 Est. Revenue: $55 million, 2008 Est Revenue: $81 million, Monthly Pageviews: 9 billion, Monthly Job Listings: 2 million, Monthly Ad Listings: 30 million and Employees: 25.

Yahoo’s Smarter, Voice-Powered Mobile Search — Yahoo announced major upgrades to its oneSearch mobile service this week, with the primary focus on voice-powered technology. OneSearch users can now speak their queries into the phone and get results that go beyond simple links. A search for “New York,” for example, could return local subway schedules, while a search for “sushi restaurants” could turn up a list of geolocated eateries with open reservations. The new mobile search also takes advantage of Yahoo’s Search Assist query suggestion tool. OneSearch 2.0 is currently only available for BlackBerry users in the U.S., but Yahoo plans to expand the platform internationally and onto more than 500 devices by the end of 2008. The voice-search tech is powered by Cambridge, Mass.-based Vlingo, a two-year-old startup that Yahoo has invested some $20 million in.

Apple Surpasses Wal-Mart As Number One U.S. Music Seller — Less than two months after edging out Best Buy and Target for the number two spot, Apple says it has now passed Wal-Mart as the number one largest music retailer in the U.S. Citing NPD Group’s MusicWatch survey, Apple claims five-year-old iTunes has sold over four billion songs to more than 50 million customers. Apple also claims its catalog of six million-plus songs is the world’s largest. NPD bases its findings on the amount of music sold during January and February 2008. Release. It could be coincidental that the news happened to hit the same day that MySpace unveiled its own new DRM-free music venture.

Seesmic Acquires Twitter Desktop Client Twhirl — Social video start-up Seesmic has acq-hired Twhirl, a desktop client that allows users to connect with text messaging social services like Twitter, Pownce and Jaiku sans browser. Seesmic will use Twhirl to enable video conversations. Twhirl creator Marco Kaiser will be joining Seesmic. The service will remain free to use.

Liberty Media Ups Stake In DirecTV To 48 Percent — Liberty Media, which recently traded its stake in News Corp. for 41 percent of DirecTV has bought an additional 78.3 million shares of the satelite operator, bringing its stake to 48 percent. Of course, because it’s Liberty, the purchase is anything but straightforward. As the company explains it: “To fund the purchase Liberty borrowed $1.98 billion against a newly executed equity collar on 110 million DIRECTV common shares. The equity collar is a series of puts and calls with maturities ranging up to 4.4 years.” Glad they cleared that up. The stake will be attributed to the company’s Liberty Entertainment tracking stock.

Buzznet Acquires Qloud For Undisclosed Amount — Buzznet Inc., a Los Angeles-based social media community focused on music and pop culture, has acquired Washington, DC-based social music company Qloud, according to Mashable. No financial terms were reported. Buzznet last year raised a $6 million Series B round, and PaidContent reports that it’s added another $25 million from investors like Interscope Records. Backers include Redpoint Ventures and Anthem Venture Partners. Qloud had raised capital from Steve Case’s Revolution.

Vomba Acquires Adware Company WhenU — Adware company WhenU, known in recent years as one of the cleanest adware purveyors in the market, was quietly bought by the Vomba Network several weeks ago. Neither company has announced the move, but industry observers say they recently became aware of a change in ownership, in part because the end-user license agreement for WhenU’s adware programs was updated March 6 to reflect the company’s new corporate parent. Privacy watchdog Truste last year accepted both New York-based WhenU and Montreal-based Vomba into its whitelist program for trusted downloads, but delisted Vomba in June. At the time, Truste said that Vomba “made a business decision that they no longer want to make the financial commitment to maintain certification.” Truste also said that Vomba was exploring “new and creative distribution methods, particularly in the peer-to-peer market,” which it would have had to discontinue to remain on the whitelist.

Time Inc. Acquires 51 Percent Of Mexican Soccer Site MedioTiempo –Time Inc. has acquired a 51 percent stake in MedioTiempo, a Mexican soccer site that claims to be the biggest sports site in the country. The deal was mentioned in a quote from Time Inc. spokeswoman in an AdAge piece about the company’s portfolio strategy. A rep from the company, the magazine publishing arm of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), confirmed to us the deal, and explained that the site was launched in 1999 by three entrepreneurs with a passion for soccer. The actual acquisition was finalized in the past month. In addition to claiming the mantle as the biggest sports site in the country (their own claim), the company also says its the fifth biggest standalone site in any category. The site is now part of Grupo Editorial Expansión, which publishes a number of magazine titles in Mexico, and was acquired by Time Inc. in 2005. Prior to taking this majority stake, no outside company had invested in the site. The three founders are now employed by GEE. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Euro RSCG Aquires San Francisco Digital Shop Kadium — Ad agency Euro RSCG Worldwide has bought full-service digital shop Kadium. Terms were not disclosed. Euro, which is owned by French ad holding company Havas, is integrating Kadium with its offices in San Francisco, which is where Kadium is also based. Kadium principals Kevin Newby, Mike Fung and Derick Daily will join the management team of Euro RSCG SF; Newby will be director-digital services, while Fung and Daily become co-ECDs. Source: PaidContent

Hearst Acquires UK-Based Map Of Medicine From Informa — Another deal in the hot health info space… Hearst has acquired Map of Medicine, a UK-based medical info service targeting doctors, from B2B media firm Informa. The web-accessible service, launched in 2000 and acquired by Informa in 2005, offers decision-making tools based on so-called evidence-based healthcare principles. The company has partnered with the National Health Service as part of the UK public health service’s modernization campaign. Hearst says it will mesh Map of Medicine with its Zynx service, which monitors clinical and patient data to aid healthcare decision making. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

J.D. Power Acquires Social Media Market Research Firm Umbria — J.D. Power, the market research and forecasting business owned by McGraw-Hill, has acquired blog-oriented market research firm Umbria. The Boulder, CO-based firm tracks and analyzes how client brands are being talked about on blogs, message boards and other social media platforms. The idea is pretty straightforward: J.D. Power, which already does this through more traditional means, wants to add a social media component. Competitors include Buzzmetrics, which was acquired by Nielsen; Cymony, acquired by TNS; and independent Buzzlogic. Umbria has raised $6.7 million from investors Arrowpath Ventures, Sequel Venture Partners and Vista Ventures. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Google To Sell Performics, Eyes Expedia — Putting questions about possible conflicts of interest to rest, Google announced Wednesday it will sell search marketing and optimization firm Performics, which it acquired as part of DoubleClick. Meanwhile, travel giant Expedia’s shares were up in late afternoon trading amidst rumors that Google was eyeing the company for acquisition. The Expedia buy would make Google a direct competitor of travel portals like Priceline and Orbitz Worldwide–companies that currently use the giant’s paid-search platform to advertise their own travel deals. And that would generate a costly conflict of interest, according to industry analysts like The Motley Fool’s Rick Aristotle Munarriz. “Sleeping with the enemy is one thing. Paying for its fare and making a rival stronger in the process, is another,” Munarriz wrote.

Amazon launches SMS shopping — Amazon has launched TextBuyIt, a service that lets mobile users use text messages to buy items and check for price and availability - and notably compare Amazon prices to those in physical stores. The service works by sending a text to Amazon, asking for the price of a product based on its ISBN or UPC number, description or name. Amazon replies by text whether it stocks the item and how much it costs. If the user is still interested, they send back their Amazon login and shipping post code, before completing the purchase using an automated voice checkout process. In part, the system will allow shoppers in stores such as bookstores to compare prices with Amazon.

Universal McCann: U.S. Trails World In Social Media Growth — The country that gave the Web both MySpace and Facebook turns out to be a world-class laggard when it comes to social media growth. “We tend to think of ourselves (in the U.S.) as leaders, but we’re just catching up with the rest of the world,” said Graeme Hutton, senior vice president and director of consumer insights at Universal McCann, in a presentation Wednesday at the Advertising Research Foundation’s Re:think 2008 conference in New York. Meanwhile, online social network membership in countries such as Brazil, Russia, Taiwan and Mexico is growing at more than 70% compared to less than 49% in the U.S.

Yahoo Opens Mobile Search to Third-Party Content Developers — Yahoo opened mobile search on Wednesday to third-party content developers with application programming interfaces (APIs) that lets companies from Facebook to Zagat link directly to the search engine. The announcements made by Yahoo mobile chief Marco Boerries at CTIA Wireless 2008 are the latest step in its battle with Google and Microsoft for consumers searching the Web. The Sunnyvale, Calif. company highlighted its mobile Internet strategy, providing a look into the latest version of its oneSearch 2.0 service. While the tool launched in 2007, the updates aim to change the way consumers use the Internet on their mobile phones. About 29 carriers worldwide are oneSearch partners.

MySpace Music Deal With Three Labels En Route; Could Be Thursday — The idea of a MySpace Music JV with the labels is about to become reality-at least, as far as announcing it goes, Reuters is reporting and we have confirmed. Possibly as soon as the next couple of days, News Corp (NYSE: NWS) will announce MySpace Music with three equity partners-Vivendi’s (EPA: VIV) Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) and SonyBMG. EMI Group is not on board at this point. News Corp is declining to comment. The actual launch date of any service is still a mystery. What we can report is that it will be a separate company with the assets of MySpace Music and its own management team. And, unlike the News Corp-NBCU JV Hulu, it will have a name from the beginning: the instantly recognizable brand of MySpace Music-and tens of millions of unique users.

Blinkx Launches Yet Another Online TV Service — After Joost, Babelgum, iPlayer, Livestation, Vuze et al comes yet another online TV platform. Web video search index Blinkx is branching farther out into distribution by launching its own version - hybrid P2P player Blinkx Broadband TV (BBTV). Its only content partners at launch are said to be film distributor Dogwoof and ubiquitous news provider ITN, though the repertoire this morning consisted of short cartoons, all on-demand. Blinkx says BBTV (which, incidentally, also stands for BoingBoing TV) harnesses Blinkx’s core speech recognition video transcription technology to offer searchability and clickable subtitles that point to web pages in a manner tightly integrated with the 1.8Mb Windows-only TV app. If the world really needs another P2P TV app, then it may be because of this snazzy-sounding feature - but it’s something that didn’t seem to work during my test.

Universal invests in digital music distributor INgrooves — Universal Music’s sales arm has made a strategic investment in INgrooves, which helps artists distribute and market their music online using its automated software. UMG Distribution, which owns indie distribution arm Fontana, will also become a strategic partner of the California-based firm. The news follows an undisclosed funding by Universal’s Interscope in music social network Buzznet, unveiled earlier this week. Founded in 2002, INgrooves offers a web-based platform - called ONE Digital - where labels and artists can market their songs and distribute them to buyers, such as online music stores or videogame makers. The principle is similar to that of online ad networks, where advertisers can choose where to place ads by selecting slots from a list of participating publishers.

Cobalt Group Inks Expanded Search, Call-Based Lead-Gen Deal With Marchex — The Cobalt Group has deepened its relationship with Marchex, utilizing the local online advertising company for both phone-based lead generation and call tracking. The deal adds VoiceStar’s (a subsidiary of Marchex) technology to the roster of call-based marketing tools that Cobalt provides for local auto dealers across North America. Seattle-based Cobalt provides on- and offline marketing services (including Web site design and management, search and direct mail) to more than 40% of the auto dealerships in the U.S.”We have multiple suppliers of this particular kind of service for our dealers, and as our business expanded, it made sense for us to engage with a new partner,” said Mark Bathum, executive director of business development at The Cobalt Group. “We’d been in a ‘courtship’ relationship with VoiceStar for almost two years, so we did our due diligence and took the time to build a strong relationship that we were comfortable expanding.”

Video Search Engine Blinkx Launches Broadband TV — Using its search expertise and the Web’s interactivity to beat TV at its own game, video search engine blinkx today is launching a broadband TV service, blinkx BBTV. “Blinkx BBTV delivers television over the Internet, but it also connects that TV with the wealth of information on the Web, rather than appearing as just another layer floating above it,” blinkx founder and CEO Suranga Chandratillake told Online Media Daily. The service enables users to browse or interact with online sources related to what they are watching, whether it’s Google, Wikipedia, IMDB or other Web sites offering relevant information–from news and entertainment to travel and sports.

AOL Releases AOL MyMobile Beta, Names Application Developers — AOL has released a beta version of AOL MyMobile and named an initial group of application developers for its AOL Open Mobile Platform. The application is similar to Yahoo Go that lets Mobile Windows users download a wide range of AOL services including Mail, Cityguide, Search, Moviefone and MapQuest. It also remembers recent requests to help speed searches. AOL’s Third Screen Media is providing targeted advertising for the new service.

Microsoft Announces Enhancements To Mobile System — Microsoft President of Entertainment and Devices Robert Bach told CTIA Wireless 2008 attendees they must stop thinking about Microsoft Windows Mobile as just an operating system. Bach announced Windows Mobile 6.1, the next generation of the mobile operating system scheduled to ship during the next few months. Enhancements to the mobile platform make it easier to pan and zoom through Web pages and access the Web from the phone. The plan is to add desktop-browsing quality this year–features typically seen in Internet Explorer 6 for new smart phones. Microsoft will add technologies found in IE 6, such as Adobe Flash, H. 264 video and Silverlight.

Glu Mobile Partners With FremantleMedia — Glu mobile has signed a deal with FremantleMedia for exclusive rights to develop and publish mobile games based on the long-running TV game shows “The Price is Right” and “Family Feud” in North and South America. Publicly traded Glu Mobile has created more than 100 games offered by more than 150 wireless carriers. Its titles include “Super K.O. Boxing!” “Stranded” and “Brain Genius.” Recently, the company also entered into a partnership with 2waytraffic International to develop mobile games based on its “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” franchise.

Google Eyeing EBay’s Skype — Something big is afoot between Google and eBay’s Skype, like a partnership or outright acquisition. There’ve been rumblings of a deal now for several weeks. Google’s Product Management team has been conspicuous by its absence from the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas, but that doesn’t mean it’s working on a Skype deal.Even so, a Skype acquisition would make perfect sense for Google. The search giant is definitely looking at voiceover IP with its new GTalk VoIP offering, its free 411 service and recent acquisition of GrandCentral, an Internet calling management company. Skype could be integrated into these and other Google offerings like Gmail, iGoogle and Orkut.

Qualcomm: MediaFLO In 58 Markets; Adding 5 Or 6 Per Quarter — During the company’s presentation at CTIA, Qualcomm execs highlighted the company’s emerging, non-core businesses, including its MediaFLO wireless video service. Division president Gina Lombardi acknowledged that MediaFLO hasn’t taken off as fast as the company would have liked, saying that the company had just gone live in its 58th market-its hometown of San Diego-but that there was a lot left to be done: “As the wireless carriers have taught us, it takes a long time to build a nationwide network.” As for the company’s growth plans, it’s hoping that the DTV transition helps accelerate things, but in the meantime, she said: “We seem to bring on about five or six new markets every quarter.”

AzoogleAds Eyes Global Ad Market, Rebrands As Epic Advertising — AzoogleAds is set to rebrand as Epic Advertising, a name that better reflects the agency’s roster of performance advertising services, including email, display and search marketing. Don Mathis, president of AzoogleAds, tells Online Media Daily that the impetus to rebrand began last October when AzoogleAds acquired Bazaar Advertising, a New York-based search firm. The rebrand is also aimed at growing international business, as the firm recently launched strategic partnerships with performance marketing agencies serving the European, Latin American and Asia-Pacific markets. New York-based AzoogleAds will officially begin using the name and the www.epicadvertising.com Web site on Wednesday.

Nielsen: Ad Spend In 2007 Up .6%, Trails Global Action — Nielsen reported that ad spending for the full year 2007 rose 0.6% compared to 2006. While television and newspapers outlets generally suffered in 2007 with declines, Nielsen said the Internet advertising business continues to buck the trend–up strongly at almost 19% over 2006, the most of any media category. Better advertising news was found in other parts of the world. The Asia-Pacific had a 12.1% gain, while the combined territories of Europe, Middle East, and Africa climbed nearly 5%.

Roo Group Reports 5% Gain In Revenue — Roo Group Reports on Monday reported fourth-quarter revenue of $3.9 million, up 4% year-over-year from $3.75 million. The company’s net loss grew to $12.5 million from $5 million year-over-year.The company has also been rechristened KIT Digital–the name of the investment group led by its recently appointed CEO, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman. Roo now plans to buy the remaining 49% of interactive ad agency Sputnik for $4 million. Sputnik is presently profitable, with revenue of $5.2 million and operating profit of $371,000.

Magazines Deploy Digital Tech To Lure Advertisers — Increasingly, publishers are scooping up technology firms to help them craft marketing services for advertisers–and we’re not talking about Yahoo, MSN and AOL getting into the ad network business (although they started the trend). Magazine publishers like Condé Nast and Meredith are using technologies they’ve acquired recently to design promotions that would help marketers sell ad space. For example, Condé Nast is preparing a promotion for the retailer Dillard’s that lets visitors to the Dillard’s site vote on merchandise that will be used later in ads. The promotion leverages the technology of the magazine publisher’s recently acquired social voting site, Reddit. It allows visitors to the Dillard’s site to rank products featured in a top 10 list selected by Condé Nast’s Lucy magazine and Style.com publications.

Vringo Launches Facebook Application — Vringo has launched a new Facebook application that lets users import friends’ profile photos to their mobile phones. The photos are then matched with friends’ phone numbers. So when they call each other, their friends’ photos will appear on their mobile screens as form of visual caller ID. Vringo for Facebook is initially being offered free and is available on BlackBerry smartphones and any Windows for Mobile device. It will eventually be offered on a wider selection of handsets.

Facebook And CareerBuilder Collaborate On Targeted Ads — Could be another blow to newspapers’ classified revenues: CareerBuilder and Facebook are working together to create campaigns for recruiters across the social net site’s user profile pages, Reuters reported. The two didn’t disclose the details of the arrangement, such as how much they expect to earn and share from the targeted ad program. They also didn’t reveal how much CareerBuilder will spend to promote it. While a CareerBuilder app was available for placement before on Facebook, this deal represents a more active partnership on the part of both to serve ads to Facebook members. Separately, Facebook declined to say whether it would strike a similar deal with CareerBuilder rival Monster.com.

Glam Ceases House Ads — News that ad network Glam Media has chosen to cut certain guaranteed payments to publisher partners had the blogosphere buzzing over the weekend. Preexisting commitments aside, Glam no longer offers “house ads,” which were served for unsold inventory throughout its network, according to an email to publishers last week from Scott Swanson, Glam’s general manager and vice president. In the email, posted online Saturday by industry blog TechCrunch, Swanson said the move was designed to give publishers “more choice when it comes to how you use your unsold inventory.” Yet, the ads are believed to have generated significant incremental revenue for publishers, and at significant cost to Glam. The decision, therefore, is seen by some as merely a cost-cutting measure. As one anonymous publisher told TechCrunch: “Publishers were previously guaranteed $3-$5 CPMs for house ads. By no longer running any house ads, that revenue dies. And given Glam’s fill rates network (sic) wide are only 30%, that’s 70% of traffic (for most publishers) that’s no longer earning revenue from Glam…It’ll basically cause a 30-80% drop in revenue for publishers.”

MyWaves Adds New Advertisers, Launches In-House Studio — Mobile video site mywaves has added a group of new advertisers and launched an in-house studio to help adapt TV spots for cellphone screens. Among the 25 brand marketers on mywaves since it opened up to advertisers in December 2007 are Microsoft, Toyota, Mini and Paramount Pictures.This week, Microsoft kicks off a campaign on mywaves that is geo-targeted to 4 million mobile users in India promoting the MS Office New Day product line. The general awareness effort developed with WPP/Quasar in India will feature animated mobile banner ads. In mid-March, a campaign promoting the new Toyota Matrix launched on mywaves that included both mobile Web banners and 15-second pre-roll spots. The flight runs through April.

Yahoo Hopes To ‘Shine’ With New Women’s Site — Acting on its oft-stated strategy to become the “starting point” for most consumers, Yahoo is focusing on a new audience: Women. With the launch of Yahoo Shine today, the Web portal unveils a one-stop-shop lifestyles site aimed in particular at women ages 25 to 54. The site is organized according to familiar categories including fashion and beauty, food, parenting and health. Each category takes the form of a blog featuring both professional and user contributions. But the venture is far from a free-for-all. Serving as editor in chief is Brandon Holley, who joined Yahoo last year after holding the top editor posts at the now-defunct magazines Elle Girl and Jane. Her staff consists mainly of other magazine and Web veterans, who oversee each of the site’s 10 content areas.

AT&T Pushes Back Mobile TV Debut To May — A year after Verizon Wireless’s similar launch, AT&T has set May 2008 as the date when it will debut mobile TV using Qualcomm’s MediaFlo service. AT&T initially set January 2008 as the launch date for mobile TV but has continually postponed the release. AT&T plans to deliver full-length programming from networks including CBS Mobile, Fox Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, and MTV. The service will debut on two new handsets, the LG Vu and the Samsung Access. It will also add a pair of exclusive channels yet to be named. Separately, Verizon is also launching new Mobile Web 2.0 sites for Viacom-owned cable networks MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and CMT. The carrier’s Mobile Web 2.0 portal launched last year is intended to provide easier access to e-mail, news, sports and weather from partners including ESPN, USA Today and MapQuest.

Bad To Worse: Newspaper Revenues Down 7.9% in 2007, Online Growth Slows — Total newspaper revenues tumbled to $45.37 billion in 2007, down 7.9% compared to 2006, according to a year-end summary released by the Newspaper Association of America. Within the total revenue figure, online revenue grew 18.8%, to $3.16 billion — but failed to offset a much larger drop in print revenues, down 9.4% to $42.2 billion. The 2007 figures confirm that the revenue decline at newspapers accelerated from 2006 to 2007. In 2006, total revenues declined a more modest 0.32%, as well as from quarter to quarter within 2007. Over the course of last year, the slide turned into a free fall with a 4.8% drop in the first quarter, followed by 8.6% in the second, 7.4% in the third, and 10.3% in the fourth.

Original Content Coming To Xbox Live — Who needs Internet TV? The New York Times is reporting that Microsoft just hired a Hollywood producer to create programming that will initially only run on the Xbox 360 console. Its first major deal –”the first of many,” according to Scott Nocas, the global marketing manager for Xbox Live–is with the Safran Company, a Hollywood talent manager representing the producers of such films as “Monster’s Ball” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Safran co. founder Peter Safran told the Times that the first round of programs would be scripted, and would run under 10 minutes. His group plans to focus on comedy and horror–genres that appeal to Xbox Live’s core 18-34 male demographic. The first slate of shows should be available by the fall.

Mobile Marketing Will Have To Wait — Unfortunately, 2008 won’t be the year that mobile marketing finally takes off, says Ad Age’s Alice C. Cuneo. For starters, there simply aren’t enough mobile Web users in the U.S.: of the 219 million nationwide subscribers, a paltry 30 million have data plans. Why? Two reasons: one, the mobile Web isn’t a great experience, and two, it costs too much. Advertising can help the latter problem–but which comes first–a leap of faith on the part of marketers to reduce the cost of mobile content, or a leap of faith on the part of carriers to provide free or low-cost data plans? Probably the latter.