New York - Media conglomerate Viacom, whose holdings include MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures, announced on Wednesday that it has signed a five-year, $500 million deal with Microsoft, that will see Microsoft serve ads on Viacom websites, and license Viacom's content for distribution on Microsoft properties like MSN and Xbox Live. [more..]

New York - Viacom's MTV Games announced on Wednesday a partnership to develop original video games with movie and TV producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Top Gun," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "CSI"). [more..]

Saltaire, U.K. - Pace Micro Technology, a maker of digital TV set-top boxes and other electronics, announced on Wednesday that it will acquire the set-top and connectivity solutions business of Royal Philips Electronics, in a transaction valued at $135.7 million. [more..]

Port Washington, N.Y. - Apple Mac owners are much more likely than PC owners to pay to download music, with 50% of Mac owners reporting having paid to download songs from retailers like the iTunes Store in the third quarter of 2007, compared with 16% of PC owners, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - Vuze, a distributor of video content using BitTorrent peer-to-peer technology, announced that it has raised $20 million in its third round of funding, led by New Enterprise Associates. [more..]

San Francisco - PlayFirst, a publisher of casual video games, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $16.5 million in its third round of financing, led by DCM. [more..]

Los Angeles - National Lampoon has taken an equity stake in Capazoo.com, an online social network and entertainment site, and will provide online video content and marketing services to the company. [more..]

Los Angeles - Juice Wireless, a mobile social network, has raised $6 million in its third round of venture capital financing, led by 21 Ventures. [more..]

Santa Monica, Calif. - KushTV, a distributor of original Web video content, has received an undisclosed sum of new funding from movie production company Contrafilm ("The Guardian," "After the Sunset"). [more..]

If you’re like many people, envisioning a year in which you join the volunteer circuit, helping to solve the world’s hunger and poverty issues, there’s at least one easy way to get a head start, and it costs you little time, and no money [more..]

I honestly was shocked at how many people that I really respect in the business world are on FB. It will be interesting to see if big business networking flourishes on FB or if participation on FB is just a way for "the Power Layer" to get a better understanding of, and to keep track of what is happening in the FB universe. [more..]

Scott Karp blogs about a few examples of print publishers who are blowing up the old content packages, which were based on distribution models that best served the PUBLISHERS, to create new dynamic packages that best serve READERS. [more..]

New York - IAC announced on Wednesday that it has tapped Brightcove to power Internet video on the websites of its businesses, which include Ticketmaster, Citysearch and 23/6. [more..]

Vancouver, Canada - Bodog Music, the record label unit of Web gambling firm Bodog Entertainment, announced on Wednesday that it has signed hip-hop artist DMX to its roster. [more..]

London - SellaBand, an Amsterdam-based online record label where fans pledge funds to help artists record albums, has partnered with online retailer Amazon.com, and will place a dedicated store on the site, The Guardian reported. [more..]

Toronto - Yangaroo, a provider of secure distribution of promotional music for record labels, has signed an agreement to provide its services for Indie911, an aggregator of independent music with 45,000 artists and labels. [more..]

Columbia, Md. - iBiquity Digital, the developer of HD Radio technology, announced that HD Radio receivers are now available for purchase directly from the websites of individual Clear Channel Radio stations. [more..]

Knoxville, Tenn. - Scripps Network Interactive's FoodNetwork.com attracted 11.4 million unique users during the month of November, according to Nielsen Online, which was more visitors then ever before achieved by any food-related site in a given month. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Tracks from Warner Music/Reprise Records artists Linkin Park, Mastodon and The Used will be included as a downloadable track pack for video game publisher Activision's "Guitar Hero III" game in December. [more..]

San Francisco - Sega of America released a version of its "Sonic the Hedgehog" title for Apple's iPod nano with video, iPod classic and the fifth generation iPod. [more..]