New York - Viacom's MTV, RealNetworks and wireless carrier Verizon on Tuesday announced the formation of a digital music joint venture, Rhapsody America. [more..]

Munich, Germany - Apple has secured deals with three European wireless carriers for the launch of its iPhone, which require them to share 10% of revenues from calls and data with the company, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. [more..]

Brisbane, Calif. - Retail giant Wal-Mart on Tuesday announced the launch of DRM-free MP3 song and album downloads from its online store, initially featuring hundreds of thousands of tracks from Universal Music and EMI Music. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - Video-sharing site Metacafe announced on Tuesday that it has raised $30 million in its third round of funding, led by new investors Highland Capital Partners and DAG Ventures. [more..]

San Jose, Calif. - Adobe Systems on Tuesday introduced an update for its Flash Player 9 software -- which is used to deliver video on sites including YouTube and MySpace -- that integrates high-definition video using the H.264 codec and MPEG 4 standard. [more..]

London - Disney's ESPN cable TV sports network said on Tuesday that it has acquired rugby news site Scrum.com, Reuters reported. [more..]

Basking Ridge, N.J. - Verizon Wireless said on Tuesday that it will make full-length episodes of CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" available on its V CAST Video mobile TV service. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Telegent Systems, a developer of mobile TV chips used in cell phones and portable media devices, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $20 million in its third round of venture capital financing, led by Northern Light Venture Capital. [more..]

Novato, Calif. - Sonic Solutions, a provider of professional and consumer DVD and CD creation software, announced on Tuesday that it has received an additional notice from the Nasdaq that its shares of in danger of being delisted, this time due to its failure to file its quarterly report on time. [more..]

Cary, N.C. - Video game developer Epic Games has acquired a majority interest in Warsaw, Poland-based game developer People Can Fly, which is best known for its PC game "Painkiller." [more..]

Scott Goldberg introduces the world to the underground sensation, The HotOrNot Drinking Game. [more..]

Jay Baage blogs about the prospect of the new Rhapsody service taking on Apple's iTunes and rounds up some of the comments about the deal from around the blogosphere.
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Heather Hopkins of Hitwise blogs about the impact of the price cut of Xbox 360 in Europe when it comes to online interest in the console.
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Rohit Bhargava blogs about the core arguments you'll need to make when selling the value of social media to an unsure audience. [more..]

New York - The Associated Press announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with NBC Sports and NBC Olympics, to provide NBC-produced text content and video links related to the 2008 Olympic Games through a premium online service. [more..]

London - Digital music service 7digital announced on Tuesday that it will be the first to offer DRM-free MP3 downloads of 24 Rolling Stones albums from major label EMI Music. [more..]

Paris - French broadband access provider Neuf Cegetel has announced plans to offer unlimited downloads from Universal Music's catalog to subscribers of its $39 per month bundled Internet, voice and digital TV offering, MarketWatch reported. [more..]

London - U.K.-based social network Bebo announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Microsoft to integrate the company's instant messaging service into its network in the fall. [more..]

San Francisco - Sonific, a provider of music applications and widgets for online communities, on Tuesday announced plans to release its Music Application Program Interface (MusicAPI) to record labels, music companies and social media platforms later this year. [more..]

New York - Publisher Conde Nast on Tuesday announced the launch of ShopVogue.TV, a video online shopping and entertainment network for its Vogue fashion magazine. [more..]

Bellevue, Wash. - Game publisher NCsoft announced on Tuesday that its massively multiplayer online roleplaying game "Guild Wars," developed by ArenaNet, has now surpassed four million units sold. [more..]

New York - 2K Games, a unit of Take-Two Interactive, on Tuesday announced the release of "BioShock" for Xbox 360 and the PC. [more..]

Foster City, Calif. - Sony Computer Entertainment America on Tuesday shipped "Jeanne d'Arc," a fantasy roleplaying game based on the legend of Joan of Arc, for the PSP handheld. [more..]