Foster City, Calif. - Sony's (NYSE: SNE) U.S. and European video games units jointly announced on Thursday that they will use in-game ad network Double Fusion to place ads within PlayStation 3 titles. The deal follows a similar one made last month with IGA Worldwide, another in-game advertising network.

Deerfield Beach, Fla. - Myxer, a distributor of ad-supported mobile content, announced on Thursday a deal with digital music distributor The Orchard (NASD: ORCD) that will add over 1 million new ringtones to its mobile content library. Myxer will convert the tracks from The Orchard's catalog of independent label songs into premium ringtones, which will then be made available to Myxer's community of over 11 million users.

New York - Verizon (NYSE: VZ) on Thursday announced the launch of FiOS TV for Business, a new subscription-television service designed for small and medium-sized businesses, delivered by Verizon's fiber-optic network. The new offering makes FiOS TV available to all types of small-business venues, including medical office waiting rooms to banks, building lobbies, restaurants and taverns. Verizon FiOS TV for Business is immediately available in select areas of the 13 states where more than 1.2 million customers already subscribe to the residential version of the service, the company said.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace on Thursday launched "The World of Sid & Marty Krofft," a new video channel that will feature condensed episodes of classic children's shows such as "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Land of the Lost" and "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters." The channel will also feature interviews and other videos featuring the series' creators, as well as details on forthcoming movie adaptations of several of the series, such as Universal's "Land of the Lost," set for release next summer.

Hollywood - Buzznet, an online social community focused on music, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with The Gauntlet, a 12-year-old site that features hard rock and heavy metal news, reviews, interviews and forums. Buzznet also features content from music-related sites including Stereogum, Idolator, Absolute Punk, Vampire Freaks and FOE.

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple's (NASD: AAPL) long-awaited iPhone 2.0 software became available on Thursday when the company released the latest version of its iTunes software (7.7), in a surprise that allowed iPhone owners to start browsing the over 550 applications available in the new App Store a day early, Macrumors reported. Among the applications that are now available for current-generation iPhone owners are lots of games, a voice recorder, e-books, price comparisons, versions of social networks including Facebook, MySpace, Loopt, Limbo and Shozu, and media applications such as Pandora Radio.

Beijing - Chinese video-sharing site Youku announced on Thursday that it has been granted an online video license from the State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SAFRT).

Luxembourg - The European Union's highest court has overturned a lower court's ruling that

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) said on Thursday that it plans to offer more than 400 ad-support casual game titles by the end of this year. The games, available as free downloads, will include titles more than two dozen publishers, and be integrated with video ads from Double Fusion and NeoEdge.

Vancouver, B.C. - NowPublic, an online "citizen journalism" network, announced on Thursday that it has acquired Truemors, venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki's site "dedicated to the free-flow of the news rumor mill."

Paris - Bestofmedia Group, a European technology publishing company, announced on Thursday that it has received a $35 million investment from Index Ventures.

Mountain View, Calif. - Graspr, an online instructional video network, announced on Thursday that it has landed a $2.5 million first round of funding, from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and angel investors.

Los Angeles - Shopflick, the developer of an online video-shopping marketplace, announced on Thursday that it has raised $7 million in its first round of funding, from Panorama Capital and Venrock.

Austin, Texas - Challenge Games, a developer of browser-based, free-to-play online games, announced on Thursday that it has closed a $4.5 million first round of funding from Sequoia Capital.