New York - Internet advertising will overtake broadcast TV and newspapers to become the largest ad medium in the U.S. by 2011, according to a report from private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS). [more..]

Washington - Several prototypes of devices that can transmit broadband Internet service over unused portions of the TV broadcast spectrum, developed by companies including Google, Microsoft and Dell, have failed a Federal Communications Commission interference test, the Associated Press reported. [more..]

New York - SpiralFrog, an ad-supported free music download service, has quietly launched an invite-only beta test of its service, CNET News.com reported. [more..]

Paris - French police have arrested a teenager suspected of posting a French-language translation of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on the Internet weeks before its official release, Reuters reported. [more..]

New York - Advertisements within video game (in-game ads) increase average brand familiarity by up to 64%, according to a study conducted by Nielsen Entertainment and commissioned by Microsoft's Massive Inc. in-game ad network division. [more..]

Los Angeles - NBC Universal's USA cable TV network plans early next year to launch an ad showcase video site that will feature both "classic" and recent TV ads, movie trailers and other content, Variety reported. [more..]

New York - Hearst Corporation announced on Wednesday that it will acquire Kaboodle, a social shopping community. [more..]

New York - Major record label Universal Music Group announced on Wednesday that it has made an undisclosed equity investment in Loud.com, an online hip-hop community. [more..]

Phoenix, Ariz. - Apollo Group, an online education firm whose holdings include the University of Phoenix, announced on Wednesday that it will acquire online ad network Aptimus, in a deal valued at $48 million. [more..]

New York - Narrowstep, a provider of Internet TV delivery technology, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $10.5 million through a private placement of its common stock and warrants. [more..]

Fleet, England - Mirics Semiconductor, a developer of chips used to receive TV and radio broadcast signals in mobile devices, announced that it has raised $12 million in its second round of financing. [more..]

Jay Baage blogs about how the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF) has started an online environmental campaign called “Project Phin” featuring celebs like Matt Damon, Ben Allleck, Sarah Silverman, Jason Briggs, Joshus Jackson, Jennifer Garner, Jenny Wade and Tobin Bell. [more..]

Sandra Hanchard blogs about how the referral traffic between Facebook and LinkedIn, a tool for managing professional relationships, gives further insight into the scope of networking activity on Facebook. [more..]

San Francisco - Hackers have found a way to strip the digital rights management (DRM) protecting the movies offered by online DVD rental service Netflix's "Watch Now" on-demand service, Wired.com reported, citing a post on Hackzine. [more..]

Mountain View, Calif. - Google has added the ability for certain users to add comments to the stories from 4,500 sources it aggregates on its Google News service -- namely, those individuals or groups who are mentioned in the stories. [more..]

Atlanta - PlayON Sports, a unit of Turner Sports, said on Wednesday that it has signed a deal with the American Basketball Association (ABA), to stream the league's games on an exclusive ABA broadband channel. [more..]

El Segundo, Calif. - Toymaker Mattel said on Wednesday that its BarbieGirls.com virtual world for kids has now surpassed 4 million registered users, within three months of its launch. [more..]

Scotts Valley, Calif. - Amazon.com's CreateSpace unit said on Wednesday that it has launched a new Books on Demand self-publishing service for authors. [more..]

Aliso Viejo, Calif. - Online shopping site Buy.com on Wednesday introduced a service called Garage Sale that lets users sell goods directly from their Facebook social network profiles. [more..]

Washington - XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio services attempting to merge with rival Sirius, said that for the first time, a new Ferrari model will come with factory-installed XM, as well as the company's NavTraffic traffic information service. [more..]

Herndon, Va. - RCN, a provider of bundled video, data and voice services, said that it has signed a major advertising pact with the Washington Redskins. [more..]

New York - Voxant, a distributor of ad-supported news to web publishers, said that its TheNewsRoom.com site is now offering New York-based MTV News' programming, with an emphasis on gaming. [more..]

Acton, Mass. - SeaChange, an Acton-based provider of digital video post-production, storage and delivery equipment, has been selected by telecommunications giant KDDI to supply equipment for its new on-demand television business. [more..]