London - More than 27 million U.K. Web users streamed a total of 3.5 billion videos online during March 2008, according to data from Web ratings provider comScore. Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube accounted for 48% of U.K. online video traffic, followed by the BBC (1.2%), Fox Interactive Media/MySpace (0.9%), Microsoft sites (0.7%), Yahoo sites (0.6%) and Dailymotion (0.4%). U.K. viewers notably watched an average of 127.7 videos each during March -- higher than rates measured by comScore in the U.S., Canada, France or Germany.

Denver - In a first for a national political convention, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) has announced that it has partnered with Comcast (NASD: CMCSA) to provide a live, Spanish-language streaming simulcast of the entire 2008 Democratic National Convention from Denver. "With Spanish as the primary language of approximately 35 million Americans -- not to mention the more than 300 million Spanish-speakers outside the United States -- offering bilingual coverage of the Convention makes more people feel welcome under the Democratic Party's 'big tent'," said Texas State Senator and Convention Co-Chair Leticia Van de Putte.

New York - AOL (NYSE: TWX) on Wednesday announced the launch of dedicated local websites serving Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela. The new additions will expand AOL's presence to a total of 25 countries; the company plans to expand into an additional five countries by the end of the year.

McLean, Va. - Clearspring Technologies said that its widget syndication and tracking service has been independently audited and accredited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations Interactive (ABCi). It marks the first time a widget company has had its numbers validated by an outside agency. The ABCi concluded that, as of June 16, Clearspring fairly stated the metrics for its widget platform and employed the necessary internal controls and processes to ensure proper delivery and tracking of widgets.

Los Angeles - Navtones, a provider of branded voices for GPS navigation systems, announced on Wednesday the release of a premium voice download created by actress Kim Cattrall ("Sex and the City") for all TomTom portable navigation devices. The company is offering both "funny" and "standard" versions of Cattrall's voicing of turn-by-turn driving directions, available for $12.95 individually or $19.95 as a pair.

Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts said on Wednesday that San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker will be the worldwide cover athlete and spokesman for its NBA Live 09 video game. The title will be available for all major game platforms on October 7.

San Mateo, Calif. - CafePress, a service that allows consumers to create custom-branded merchandise from their own designs, announced on Wednesday that it has settled a trademark lawsuit filed against it by Hustler magazine publisher LFP, over use of the word "hustler" on items available through CafePress.

San Francisco - The FBI this week visited the operator of a blog that leaked pre-release tracks from the long-awaited Guns 'N Roses album "Chinese Democracy" -- a crime that under a 2005 law can carry a ten-year prison term, Rolling Stone and Wired.com reported. "Skwerl," the operator of the blog Antiquiet, posted the tracks for streaming on his blog but quickly removed them after being contacted by representatives for the band.

New York - The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), a digital distributor of independent label music, announced on Wednesday a partnership with digital music retailer AmieStreet.com, that will bring The Orchard's catalog of over 1.1 million songs to the Web store, where song pricing varies based on consumer demand.

Princeton, N.J. - Revenues from local online videos in the U.S. are projected to reach $1.5 billion by the end of 2012, growing at an impressive 168% compound annual growth rate from $10.9 million in 2007, according to a report from market research firm The Kelsey Group.

New York - The 8GB Apple (NASD: AAPL) iPhone 3G, which will go on sale next month in the U.S. for $199, costs the company an estimated $173 to manufacture, according to a report by market research firm iSuppli.

New York - BlogTalkRadio, the provider of a service that lets anyone host a live radio talk show over the Internet, has raised $4.6 million in a new round of financing led by The Kraft Group, The New York Times' Bits Blog reported.

St. Louis - Cable TV and broadband provider Charter Communications (NASD: CHTR) has abandoned plans to deploy a system that would have monitored the Web surfing habits of its customers in a bid to serve them more relevant ads. Charter's plans to implement NebuAd's tracking service drew scrutiny from both consumer privacy advocates and powerful Congressmen on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, who sent a letter to Charter asking the company to delay its plans and provide more information.

Mountain View, Calif. - Coupons, Inc., a provider of interactive coupon marketing and technologies, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired CouponBug, which partners with TV stations that run ads directing consumers to websites with coupons.

Los Angeles - SodaHead, an online community that features group discussions on a range of topics, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $8.4 million in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Mission Ventures.