Los Angeles - Steven Spielberg is working on a social network that will connect people who have had paranormal or extraterrestrial experiences, or who are interested in sharing such information, TechCrunch reported. The report goes on to chronicle Spielberg's connections with the subject, including films ("E.T.," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Poltergeist") and anecdotes about more personal experiences. Sources told TechCrunch that the project, initially but no longer associated with Yahoo, is currently in development by a team in Los Angeles and is slated to launch in the coming months.

Palo Alto, Calif. - Online social network Facebook on Tuesday named former Google (NASD: GOOG) executive Sheryl Sandberg as its new COO, effective March 24. Sandberg for the past six years served as Google's vice president of global online sales and operations, building and managing the company's online sales channels for both AdWords and AdSense. At Facebook, she will attempt to scale the company's operations and expand its presence globally. Earlier in her career, Sandberg was the chief of staff to the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Clinton.

Beaverton, Ore. - Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Tuesday announced that they are working with major gym equipment manufacturers to make their cardio equipment compatible with their Nike + iPod service, so users can plug an iPod nano into the machines and track their fitness progress at NikePlus.com. The companies said the feature will soon become available at participating gyms, including 24 Hour Fitness nationwide and Virgin Active Health Clubs internationally.

Tokyo - A student at Japan's Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering Science has developed a remote control that uses infrared sensors to monitor eye winks and control the functions of an Apple (NASD: AAPL) iPod, Reuters reported. Kazuhiro Taniguchi says that his "KomeKami Switch" or "Temple Switch" can judge the difference between accidental and intentional winks, even if a user "eats, talks, walks and runs."

Lyon, France - French video game publisher Infogrames, also the parent company of U.S.-based Atari (NASD: ATAR), has announced the appointment of Phil Harrison, former president of worldwide studios for Sony Corp.'s (NYSE: SNE) Sony Computer Entertainment , as its new president. Harrison, who will also take a seat on the company's board, was hired to lead group publishing and game development into the network era, and oversee the Atari brand in the U.S. and abroad.

Durham, N.C. - Motricity, a provider of mobile content delivery services, has announced that it will cut 250 jobs over the next nine months.

Los Angeles - Demand Media, a provider of domain name registration and social media services founded by former MySpace chairman Richard Rosenblatt, said on Tuesday that it has acquired Pluck, a provider of social media and syndication tools.

Chicago - Pitchfork Media, a Chicago-based site that offers independent music news, reviews and other content, announced on Tuesday that it plans to launch a Web-based music video channel next month that will offer "mini-documentaries, secret rooftop and basement sessions, full concerts, exclusive interviews, and the most carefully curated selection of music videos online." "The 24-hour music network was such a great concept. What happened?," reads the Pitchfork.tv announcement.

New York - Qtrax, a company developing a free, legal, music file-sharing service, announced on Tuesday that it has signed new licensing deals with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and TVT Records, and extended an existing agreement with EMI Music Publishing. The deals with the music publishers do not immediately give Qtrax the right to offer their repertoire, as the company must also secure licenses from the record labels themselves.

New York - Bolstered by a video game industry enjoying unprecedented growth, spending on advertising within video games in the U.S. is expected to increase from $295 million in 2007 to $650 million in 2012, according to a report from market research firm eMarketer.

Los Angeles - Break Media, the operator of male-focused entertainment site Break.com, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Wall Street Fighter, a business news and financial humor website with more than 500,000 unique monthly visitors.

Los Angeles - Spot Runner, a provider of online advertising services that let companies create and purchase TV and radio commercials, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Weblistic, a provider of online marketing services.

Dulles, Va. - Looking to boost its Web traffic, as well as its appeal to potential advertisers, AOL (NYSE: TWX) is planning to launch at least a dozen new websites by midyear, Bloomberg reported.

London - With the U.K. government considering whether or not to make Internet service providers cut off service to customers who repeatedly engage in illegal file-sharing, a new report issued in the country suggest that 70% of consumers there would stop such actions if they received a warning from their ISP. The 2008 Digital Entertainment Survey, conducted by Entertainment Media Research and commissioned by U.K. media law firm Wiggin LLP, further found that the percentage of users who would cease illegal file-sharing rises to 78% among male teenagers.

Hurst, Texas - Handango, a provider of mobile content for smartphones, announced that it has raised $9.5 million in its third round of venture capital financing, which will be used to support distribution deals, improve scalability and expand globally.

Boston - Compete Inc., a provider of online market survey services, has been acquired by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), a U.K.-based provider of market information and analysis, for $75 million in cash.

Dublin, Ireland - NewBay Software, a provider of mobile services that let users create, store, view and share user-generated content, announced that it has raised $9.9 million in its second round of financing, led by Fidelity Ventures.