Washington - A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has dealt the U.S. a setback in a case that sets U.S. interests in prohibiting Internet gambling against the financial interests of the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, where many Web gambling firms have operations, Reuters reported. [more..]

New York - For the second straight year, Google topped a survey that asked participants to name the brand with the most global impact, bettering second-place Apple and new entrants YouTube (3rd) and Wikipedia (4th) as well as Starbucks (5th). [more..]

Washington - A bill introduced in the U.S. House would increase penalties on violent crimes where the acts have been videotaped by the perpetrators and posted online. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Melodis Corporation, a developer of search and sound recognition technologies, on Friday introduced a free service that lets users search for music by singing, whistling or humming a few bars of a song to identify the track. [more..]

New York - The deployment of AT&T's Internet-based TV service, U-verse, has been slowed by problems with the Microsoft software that powers the service, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. [more..]

Amsterdam - The Netherlands has joined Scandinavian led action against Apple's digital rights management lock on its iPod device and iTunes software. This means that Apple is coming under increasing pressure from consumer rights advocates in EU nations (including Germany, France, Sweden, Norway and Finland), all who want to force the company to unlock its iTunes software so it can be used with other MP3 players. [more..]

San Francisco - After receiving a complaint from MySpace about a security-related website whose archives included a list of MySpace user names and passwords, domain name registrar GoDaddy summarily suspended the account of Seclists.org, which houses 250,000 pages, CNET News.com reported. [more..]

New Hope, Pa. - myYearbook.com, a social networking site for teens, announced on Friday that it has raised $4.1 million in its first round of venture capital financing, from U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. [more..]

London - MarketClusters, a U.K.-based provider of a service that filters and provides context on expert opinions from blogs and news feeds for corporate customers, announced that it has raised $3 million in its first round of financing, led by NewMedia SPARK. [more..]

Southborough, Mass. - Network World Events and Executive Forums on Friday announced the list of 68 products and services that will be introduced at the DEMO 07 conference, which will take place Jan. 30 - Feb. 1 in Palm Desert, Calif. Some of the innovations to be unveiled before an audience of reporters, investors and others include a collaboration site for musicians; video ringtones; software that tracks plagiarized blog content; the first video e-mail and messaging service; and a GPS product that allows users to control their vehicles wirelessly. A full list of the companies chosen to present at DEMO 07 is available from a link below. [more..]

Dulles, Va. - AOL vice chairman Ted Leonsis this week premiered a new documentary film that he served as a producer on at the Sundance Film Festival. In a blog entry, Leonsis wrote on Friday that his team is "still working feverishly on a domestic (distribution) deal but it looks like we may have to wait until after the festival to close on one." "Nanking" chronicles the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China in the early days of World War II, and the heroic effort of a small group of Westerners to save as many civilians as possible. [more..]

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo of America announced on Friday that its dual-screen Nintendo DS handheld game system has now sold more than 10 million units in the Americas, including five million sold in the U.S. last year alone. The company added that it plans to release 20 new DS games in the U.S. in the first three months of 2007, including "Diddy Kong Racing DS" and "Wario: Master of Disguise." [more..]