New York - AT&T (NYSE: T) plans to allow owners of Apple (NASD: AAPL) iPhones to use the devices to control features on its U-verse broadband and digital TV service, Reuters reported. In addition to allowing the iPhone to act as TV remote control, DVR recordings will be transferrable to the device. U-verse subscribers will also be able to listen to their voice mail via their TV screens, and use the iPhone "for entertainment purposes like virtually hurling tomatoes at the TV screen," according to Reuters.

Los Angeles - Video game publisher Activision (NASD: ATVI) plans to triple the amount of "Guitar Hero" content it produces over the next two years, including both new versions of the game and downloadable content for the titles, CEO Mike Griffith told analysts, GameDaily reported. Further, Universal Music president and COO Zach Horowitz stated that, on average, sales of songs featured in "Guitar Hero" jump between 200% and 300%. One song, Weezer's "My Name is Jonas," saw a 1,000 sales increase in the weeks following the release of "Guitar Hero III."

San Diego - Slacker on Tuesday released its second-generation personal radio player device, which automatically downloads and continuously refreshes thousands of personally-selected songs and turns them into personalized radio stations. Users can choose from more than 100 Slacker-programmed stations, 10,000 artist stations, or create their own custom stations. The Slacker G2 Personal Radio Player is available for $199.99 (25 Stations, 4GB) and $249.99 (40 stations, 8GB).

London - U.K.-based digital music retailer 7digital on Tuesday announced a new agreement with Sony BMG to sell songs in the DRM-free MP3 format, making the retailer's entire 4-million-track catalog now available as MP3s. Sony BMG tracks previously purchased from 7digital in the WMA format will be upgraded to MP3 for free. To celebrate its milestone of having an all-MP3 catalog, 7digital is offering two MP3 albums for free to all users, while other selected albums will be priced at just $3.57.

London - U.K. retail chain Tesco has licensed Warner Music Group's (NYSE: WMG) catalog for distribution as MP3s via its Tesco Digital store. The deal includes premium album bundles, music videos, remixes and rarities from Warner Music UK. The Tesco Digital store currently offers more than 3.3 million tracks.

Madrid - Yes.fm, a Spain-based streaming music service, has announced its launch with a library of 2 million songs from all four major labels and a handful of independents, Billboard reports. Yes.fm offers both an ad-supported free version, and a range of subscription options. Content director Kiko Fuentes told Billboard the company hopes to count 1 million users by year's end, of which 5% should be subscribers.

New York - Major record label Sony BMG's Commercial Music Group on Tuesday announced the launch of MovieTunes, a new service that helps filmmakers choose music for their films. The site lets filmmakers submit specific criteria pertaining to their needs, at which point a Sony BMG "music expert" will provide assistance in selecting songs from the Sony BMG archive that fit their budget parameters.

San Bruno, Calif. - Global Lost & Found, a provider of tracking and recovery services for portable electronics, said on Tuesday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its first round of funding, led by DFJ Frontier.

Hollywood - Despite flattening sales, the DVD remains the most popular movie format in the U.S., as $8 of every $10 spent by consumers on movies go towards DVD sales or rentals, while less than 1% of Americans' movie budgets is currently spend downloading movies and TV shows from the Web, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group.

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) on Tuesday released its previously announced software update for its Zune portable digital media player, and also said that it partnered with Wi-Fi hotspot firm Wayport to allow Zune owners to access the Internet from more than 9,800 participating McDonald's restaurants in the U.S.

Atlanta - Whoop, the Atlanta-based provider of a Web-based platform for creating and publishing content to mobile devices, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $2 million in angel funding from a group of individuals.

New York - Time Inc.'s (NYSE: TWX) Maghound Enterprises on Tuesday announced the beta launch of Maghound, an online magazine subscription service that lets users pay a single monthly fee for access to a range of magazine titles.

Washington - Ninety-seven percent of young Americans ages 12 to 17 play video games, including 99% of boys and 94% of girls, according to a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Seattle - Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) announced on Tuesday that its Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) subsidiary has launched free streaming of full-length movies and TV shows. The new feature launches with some 6,000 titles provided by CBS, Hulu, Sony Pictures Television and over 500 independent filmmakers, including movies like "Fever Pitch," "Hoop Dreams" and "Raising Arizona," and TV shows such as "24," "CSI," "The Simpsons" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

San Francisco - Major label EMI, the lone holdout from MySpace's (NYSE: NWS) forthcoming music service joint venture with the other majors, is now close to signing a deal to join the venture, CNET News.com reported, citing two sources close to the negotiations. An EMI spokeswoman confirmed the companies "are in talks" for CNET, and a source said the companies are "trying to jump some final hurdles," adding that EMI might be on board for launch.

Palo Alto, Calif. - Social Gaming Network (SGN), a developer of games for social media, said on Tuesday that it has acquired (fluff)Friends, a Facebook application that lets users adopt virtual pets and compete to earn virtual currency.

San Francisco - BitTorrent, a provider of peer-to-peer-based content delivery services, has raised $17 million in a third round of funding, led by DCM and Accel Partners, PEHub.com reported, citing a regulatory filing.

Framingham, Mass. - Punchbowl Software, the operator of event-planning website MyPunchbowl.com, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $2.1 million in its first round of venture capital, which was led by Contour Venture Partners.

Hong Kong - Imagi, a developer and producer of computer-animated movies ("TMNT"), said on Tuesday that it has raised $30 million in new financing, through placements of its shares with Shui On Holdings Limited and Mehta-Imagi.