Cannes, France - Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) on Monday announced deals with 10 record labels that will add over 5 million new tracks to PlayNow, its over-the-air mobile music download service. New signings include Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone. The service was initially introduced in 2004, and is now available in 32 countries. Sony Ericsson also said it has added 250 new mobile games to the PlayNow service, from publishers including EA Games, Gameloft, THQ and Glu Mobile.

London - Large U.K. retailer Woolworths has announced that it will no longer carry HD DVD format movies in its stores as of March, opting instead to feature only Blu-ray titles. The company said that Blu-ray titles outsold HD DVD titles by ten-to-one over the holiday period. "The main reason is the success of Sony's PlayStation 3 machine. Because it plays Blu-ray discs, there are over three quarters of a million homes in the UK that can view the new high definition format," Woolworths DVD buyer Steven McGunigel told The Retail Bulletin. "While we're disappointed by Woolworths' decision, it is extremely early to spot which format will eventually win," Oliver Van Wynendaele, European assistant general manager of Toshiba's Consumer Products Division, told GamesIndustry.biz.

Los Angeles - The Jim Henson Company announced on Monday that it has added a range of movie and TV titles to Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store, beginning with episodes of the TV series "Farscape" and "Fraggle Rock." The company recently premiered actor/director Ed Burns' "Purple Violets" on the iTunes Store in November.

Atlanta - IVideosongs.com on Monday announced the launch of its Web-based video music lessons from famous instructors, including Graham Nash (CSNY), Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Jeff Carlisi (.38 Special). The downloadable, HD videos cost $4.99 and teach aspiring guitarists, drummers, keyboard players and others how to play recognizable tunes. While a good portion of the instructional videos feature the original artists, more than half are taught by other professional instructors.

New York - Verizon (NYSE: VZ) announced on Monday that its FiOS TV service has surpassed 1 million customers, making it the tenth-largest cable TV provider in the U.S. Launched in September 2005, FiOS TV offers hundreds of digital video and music channels, HD programming, and a library of more than 10,000 video-on-demand titles. It is currently available in parts of California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.

Las Vegas - The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), a trade group of companies in the mobile entertainment industry, on Monday introduced its US Participation TV Code of Practice, which it calls "a practical framework on issues such as the presentation of pricing information on TV, radio and in print to dealing with consumer queries, building viewer-friendly applications which are easy to use and putting in place mechanisms for refunds." The MEF said the Code came about as a result of issues related to mobile-enabled TV broadcasts, such as "entries being accepted for votes or competitions after the official closing time, primarily due to latency issues with capacity, and a lack of pricing transparency leading to consumer confusion over the cost of services."

Washington - The Washington Post on Monday launched a new daily online magazine called "The Root," which the company hopes to use to "[raise] the profile of black voices in mainstream media." The brainchild of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Post chairman Donald Graham, The Root will focus news and issues important to African-Americans, and also include tools to help readers build their family trees. HBO has signed on as a founding sponsor of The Root, and MSN has signed a deal to regularly feature links to the magazine's articles on its homepage.

Franklin, Tenn. - PassAlong Networks, a provider of white-label digital music stores and related services, announced on Monday that it partnered with EMI Christian Music Group to launch ChristianDigitalStore.com. The store will offer Christian music from EMI CMG, Warner's Word Entertainment, Sony BMG's Provident Music Group and independent labels. The company said the first retailer to sign on to use the service is Family Christian Stores, which operates over 300 locations in 37 states.

Cannes, France - RoyaltyShare announced on Monday that U.K.-based independent label consortium Beggars Group will use its services to handle back-end processing of information. The label group already uses RoyaltyShare's Musicalc software for royalty processing on its digital sales.

San Francisco - IODA, a digital distributor of independent label music, said Monday that seven new independent music distributors have signed on to use its services. They include Darla, Malaco and Rev Distribution (USA); JetStar (U.K.); Integral (France); Tesco Distribution (Germany); and Creative Distribution (Australia).

Los Angeles - Napster (NASD: NAPS) and Ericsson on Monday announced the launch of the Napster Mobile music service with Telecom Italia, which claims over 35 million subscribers. The premium service offers a catalog of more than 5 million songs, thanks in part to a raft of new mobile licensing deals announced by Sony Ericsson today.

Palm Desert, Calif. - Zodiac Interactive, a developer of software for interactive television, on Monday introduced its new mobile content search engine, Zodigo, at the DEMO 08 conference. The search engine is compatible with digital TV systems, next-generation DVD players and game consoles, and enables consumers to use their TV remote control or PC to discover and download mobile content to their mobile phones.

Burlingame, Calif. - BitGravity on Monday introduced its BG LiveBroadcast platform at the DEMO 08 conference, which the company bills as the first cost-effective, carrier-grade, live broadcasting solution that lets media companies broadcast live content over the Internet to millions of viewers in a high-quality, highly-reliable experience that rivals television." The company said the Flash-based streaming service streamlines the necessary computers to a single device, and more than halves the cost of current installations for content providers.

Cannes, France - Javien Digital Payment Solutions on Monday introduced the Javien New Media Payment Gateway, a transaction payment system tailored for companies selling digital assets like music, movies, games and software over the Internet and mobile platforms. "Our platform doesn't just deliver the full breadth of technology needed to successfully sell music, movies and games -- it also streamlines the entire range of merchant processes by providing a central management point for administering billing and customer care," said Javien CEO Leslie Poole.

Cannes, France - Txttunes, a provider of wireless payment and artist-to-fan mobile services, announced on Monday that it has signed a deal to add the entire catalog of digital music distributor The Orchard to its offering. Txttunes lets consumers purchase songs on their computers, and have charges billed to their mobile phone accounts rather than a credit card. The service is currently available only in the U.S., but launches are planned in Canada, Australia and the U.K. in coming months.

Agoura Hills, Calif. - THQ Wireless (NASD: THQI) announced on Monday that it has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA), to exclusively develop and publish Playboy-branded mobile games. The first of the non-nude mobile games featuring bikini-clad models, "Playboy Games: Pool Party," is scheduled for release this summer.

Seattle - Online retail giant Amazon.com has announced plans to begin an international rollout of its new DRM-free music store, Amazon MP3, which launched in the U.S. in September and now offers MP3s from all four major labels and over 33,000 independents. The company did not disclose a specific launch timeline for individual Amazon MP3 international websites, saying only that the rollout would begin in 2008.

Cannes, France - Qtrax this weekend announced the launch of what it claims is the first legal peer-to-peer file-sharing service with tracks from all the major labels, although all of the majors have since stated that they have not licensed Qtrax -- and the service remains offline, according to reports. Qtrax said that it would offer between 25 and 30 million tracks, giving it the largest library of any legal online music service.

San Francisco - Current Media, the new media TV and Web video network founded by former Vice President Al Gore, on Monday announced plans to file for an initial public offering (IPO) of shares that could raise up to $100 million, according to an SEC filing. Founded in 2002 by Gore and partner Joel Hyatt, Current Media operates a cable TV network and website that feature a mix of professionally-produced and user-generated content, targeted at young adults.