Hong Kong - Alibaba.com, a large e-commerce portal in China, has raised $1.5 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) of shares on the Hong Kong stock market, and saw its share price nearly triple in trading on Tuesday. [more..]

Los Angeles - Recording artist Prince has in recent weeks launched efforts to have all websites -- including those created by his fans -- remove all instances of his likeness, lyrics and other elements, prompting some to join together at PrinceFansUnited.com to combat the effort, CMJ.com reported on Tuesday. [more..]

Boston - The Pirate Bay, a Sweden-based file-sharing hub that has been targeted by law enforcement for its trading in copyrighted media, is now developing its own file-sharing software as the creators of BitTorrent, the application used on The Pirate Bay, look to form partnerships with entertainment companies, Reuters reported on Tuesday. [more..]

Tokyo - Sony has announced plans to launch a new, lighter version of its PlayStation 2 console with a built-in AC adaptor later this month in Japan, Reuters reported on Tuesday. [more..]

Los Angeles - Live concert promoter and venue owner Live Nation on Tuesday announced the launch of new 3D seat maps on its websites for the majority of its amphitheatres across the country. [more..]

Seattle - Hidden City Games, distributor of the Bella Sara trading card game for girls and complementary online world, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $15 million in new financing, from Rustic Canyon Partners and Trinity Ventures. [more..]

New York - Makeover Solutions, a New York-based provider of online "beauty communities" for women, on Tuesday announced that it has raised $7 million in a round of venture capital led by Village Ventures Fund, Rho Canada and Borealis Ventures. [more..]

Herzeliya, Israel - Volas Entertainment, a provider of mobile content aggregation and back-end services, announced on Tuesday that Logia Group, a provider of mobile and Internet technology services, has taken a 50% stake in the company. [more..]

The labels are choosing to leave what could potentially be lucrative new revenue streams from Virtual Worlds such as Habbo Hotel on the table, blogs Jay Baage. [more..]

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Marina del Rey, Calif. - CinemaNow, an Internet movie and TV show download service, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Sonic Solutions to add the ability for consumers to burn downloaded purchases from its service to DVD. [more..]

Mumbai, India - Microsoft nasd announced on Tuesday a $500 million contract with Reliance Communications, to power the India-based company's IPTV service. [more..]

Santa Monica, Calif. - Video game publisher Activision announced on Tuesday that its "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" has racked up over $115 million in sales in North America since its release a week ago. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo Telemundo, the co-branded Internet venture between NBC Universal's Telemundo Spanish-language network and Yahoo nasd, has announced plans to stream Telemundo's primetime shows and telenovelas online, Variety reported. [more..]

Los Angeles - Continuing the recent trend of artists and labels offering full-album streaming previews of records before their physical release dates, upcoming albums from Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear (Warp Records) and Iceland's Sigur Ros (EMI) have been posted on MySpace and AOL's Spinner.com, respectively. [more..]

Oakland, Calif. - Music discovery service Pandora on Tuesday introduced a number of new features, including social networking elements and a new series of Pandora-produced podcasts and videos. [more..]

Commack, N.Y. - Raxxle.com on Tuesday announced the beta launch of its new social networking community that utilizes proprietary facial-recognition technology to generate both real-world and celebrity look-alike "matches" for its members. [more..]

Mountain View, Calif. - Meebo, a provider of instant messaging services, announced on Tuesday a partnership with streaming TV service Joost, to power chat rooms across Joost's platform. [more..]

Durham, N.C. - Motricity, a provider of mobile content services, announced on Tuesday that it has signed a contract renewal with the cable TV network Turner Broadcasting. [more..]

Austin - NCsoft on Tuesday announced the formation of a new game development studio in Mountain View, California, as well as its acquisition of full ownership of its "City of Heroes" online game, which was initially split with developer Cryptic Studios. [more..]

Edison, N.J. - Video game publisher Majesco Entertainment announced on Tuesday the formation of a casual games development studio in the Los Angeles area. [more..]

Plano, Texas - Two game industry veterans on Tuesday announced the formation of Beanbag Studios, a new studio that will develop PC, console and mobile games with a casual focus. [more..]