It's Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. With the recession and ongoing crisis on the financial markets, many retailers have seen a sharp drop in sales and are hoping for a boost as Americans get out there and do some retail therapy. However, it seems like Black Friday will be a different kind of shopping day this year. Some people will still shell out thousands of dollars on flat-panel TVs, but research shows that more people then ever before are looking to do their holiday shopping online and at discount retailers.

There's a new top-level domain name ("TLD") on the block, and broadcasters and other media companies will want to protect URLs that include their call signs, unique slogans and positioning statements or other registered marks or names.  The new TLD will be ".tel."  Unlike .com, .net, .org, and other current TLDs that link to websites, the new .tel TLD is designed specifically for access by mobile devices such as the Blackberry and iPhone and will access to the contact information of the holder of the .tel URL without the need for a standard website.  The theory behind the .tel TLD is to allow instant access to contact information without having to access a registrant's website.  When contact information is accessed via mobile devices, the telephone numbers will appear as "hot links" that will dial those numbers upon touch or selection. 

San Bruno, Calif. - Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube announced on Tuesday that it will expand the size of the videos displayed on its site into a 16:9 widescreen format. "This new, wider player is in a widescreen aspect ratio which we hope will provide you with a cleaner, more powerful viewing experience," the company said in a blog posting.

Dallas - Video rental giant Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) on Tuesday introduced its new video-on-demand set-top box, the 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player. The device supports HD video content and can be connected to an HDTV set, but otherwise delivers "DVD-quality" video. At launch, the company is offering the device for free, with the advance rental of 25 on-demand movies -- which runs $99. After the initial rentals, movies will rent through the broadband-connected device starting at $1.99 each.

New York - Major record label Universal Music Group announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with instant messaging and group chat service provider Meebo, and will provide Meebo users with ad-supported music videos. The promotional videos will initially feature Kanye West, Ludacris, and The Killers. UMG will also embed Meebo Rooms on official artist pages

Burbank, Calif. - Disney Interactive Studios (NYSE: DIS) on Tuesday announced the release of "Ultimate Band" for the Nintendo Wii and DS. Developed by Utah-based Fall Line Studio, the game features tracks including "Fell In Love With a Girl," "Whip It" and "My Generation." Ultimate Band also lets players lay down their own tracks; the DS version features a "built-in recording studio," according to Disney.

New York - The Bono-backed (RED) charity for AIDS in Africa plans to launch a subscription-based digital music service on Monday that will offer exclusive tracks from artists including U2, Coldplay, Jay-Z, Elton John and Death Cab for Cutie, among others. The $5 per month (RED)Wire service will each week deliver one exclusive song from a major artist; one track from a lesser-know artist; a multimedia element; and a feature on how proceeds from the service are helping in Africa.

New York - Major record label Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) on Tuesday reported that digital revenue grew 26% in its fiscal fourth quarter, to $167 million, while full-year digital revenue increased 39% to $639 million, and now represents 18% of its total revenues.