San Francisco - On Monday, the first day of the Macworld trade show that highlights Apple (NASD: AAPL) products, Google (NASD: GOOG) introduced a new user interface for owners of Apple's iPhone. The upgrade includes speeder Gmail that doesn't require users to refresh inboxes, and a new month view for the iPhone version of Google's Calendar application. Users can now also access their iGoogle applications -- such as weather, stocks and news feeds -- on their iPhones.

New York - Toymaker Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is seeking to shut down Scrabulous, the online version of its Scrabble board game that counts 2.3 million active users on Facebook and attracted 70 million page views in the past month, Fortune.com reports. Scrabulous co-creator Jayant Agarwalla told Fortune.com that ad revenues from the game are "over $25,000 a month." Hasbro did not respond to Fortune.com's request for comment on the matter.

San Jose, Calif. - Adobe Systems (NASD: ADBE), the developer of Web publishing software, said on Monday that its philanthropic arm, the Adobe Foundation Fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, has awarded $1 million to the PBS Foundation. The grant will establish PBS's Adobe Youth Voices Venture Fund, which will help support professional and student producers in creating broadcast programming focused on youth-related subject matter, and also incorporate youth-generated video, animation and photography into public television broadcasts and websites.

Great Falls, Va. - Knowlera Media, a start-up founded by former Anystream executive Greg Letourneau, and Will Jerro, the founder of ReliaQuote, on Monday launched MonkeySee.com, a new site featuring thousands of free how-to videos. The videos are organized into short chapters, allowing viewers to progress at their own pace. The site also allows experts to upload videos they've created on their own. "Our original content stands out because it is created by professional filmmakers, shot in high definition, and displayed in an extra large widescreen video player," said Letourneau.

Stamford, Conn. - World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (NYSE: WWE) said on Monday that next week it will begin offering its various weekly programs and pay-per-view events in HD. Programs to be offered in HD include "Monday Night RAW" and "A.M. RAW" on USA; "ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling" on SCI FI Channel; and "Friday Night SmackDown" on The CW. WWE said its programming reaches 16 million people per week in the U.S.

New York - Video-sharing site Dailymotion, which claims 32.3 million monthly users, on Monday introduced three new video-based ad formats. The Toaster ad comprises a flash-based mini-commercial that is overlaid on the bottom portion of a video, where users can click to launch a player within the player; the Home Theater ad unit wraps around the video player and can click through to a desired URL; and the Companion Logo ad is a clickable 3D logo that appears in the left corner of a video for 10 seconds.

San Francisco - OpenTV (NASD: OPTV), a provider of interactive TV software and services, said on Monday that Auction Network, the first U.S. TV network devoted to the auction industry, will use its services to power its live Internet auction business and upcoming television launch. San Francisco-based OpenTV will handle all auction transactions, allowing viewers to interact in real-time with the TV programming via the Web, Internet telephony, mobile devices and eventually set-top boxes.

Los Angeles - Gemstar-TV Guide International (NASD: GMST), a provider of electronic program guides for digital TV services, said on Monday that it has signed a multi-year license agreement with MobiTV, a provider of mobile TV delivery services. Under the deal, both MobiTV itself and its partners who provide the service will be able to offer subscribers to interactive program guides for mobile video programming.

Montreal - Interactive entertainment developer Ludia said Monday it has signed a deal with FremantleMedia Enterprises, licensor for the "American Idol" TV show, to create online games based on the series. Montreal-based Ludia said its game, set to launch in conjunction with the show's 2009 season, will feature performance, online community and social networking components.

Purchase, N.Y. - Pepsi (NYSE: PEP) and online retailer Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) on Monday confirmed plans for their $1 billion giveaway, which includes redeemable points on four billion Pepsi products that consumers can spend on MP3 downloads, as well as Amazon Unbox TV downloads, electronics, apparel, DVDs and CDs. The promotion will be unveiled in advertising during the Super Bowl broadcast, and commence on Feb. 1.

Los Gatos, Calif. - Online DVD rental service Netflix (NASD: NFLX) announced on Monday that it will offer unlimited streaming of movie and TV episodes to subscribers of its unlimited monthly DVD rental plans, which start at $8.99 per month.

New York - Online video broadcaster ROO Group on Monday further detailed its restructuring efforts, announcing it will shutter its business solutions unit and lay off 10 employees.

New York - Japanese consumer electronics firm Toshiba on Monday announced that it will dramatically cut prices on its range of next-generation HD DVD players, in a bid to counter recent momentum from rival Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray format. "While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer," said Yoshi Uchiyama, group vice president for Toshiba's digital A/V group.

Hong Kong - Apple (NASD: AAPL) and China Mobile, the country's largest mobile network operator with 350 million subscribers, have called off talks to partner for the iPhone launch in China, Reuters reported.

Toronto - The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal last week overturned a decision that would have extended the levies the country adds to the cost of blank discs -- to cover potential losses from media copying -- to digital audio recorders. The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), which collects and distributes the blank disc tariffs to artists, had sought the expansion of the levy to include MP3 players and similar devices.

Brussels - The European Commission on Monday launched a new probe into allegations that Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) is unfairly tying its Internet Explorer browser to its Windows operating system, and making it difficult for competitors' software to work with Windows, Reuters reported. "This initiation of proceedings does not imply that the Commission has proof of an infringement. It only signifies that the Commission will further investigate the case as a matter of priority," the Commission said.

New York - News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) MySpace announced on Monday a joint effort with the Attorneys General of 49 states and the District of Columbia, to adopt a set of principles for social networking site safety, and make changes to its website to protect youth against sexual predators. The announcement from MySpace comes after pressure from several State Attorneys General, which led the company last year to begin searching for and deleting the profiles of convicted sex offenders.