London - Major record label EMI Group on Tuesday announced a major restructuring, that will see between 1,500 and 2,000 of the company's 5,500 employees let go, and other initiatives the company says will reduce costs by $393 million annually. [more..]

San Francisco - Apple on Tuesday announced the launch of iTunes Movie Rentals, a new service that will feature titles from all the major movie studios, available within 30 days of their DVD release and priced at $3.99 for new releases and $2.99 for library titles. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - Online social network Facebook has received a "significant" investment from German Internet entrepreneurs the Samwer brothers, Reuters reports. [more..]

West Hollywood, Calif. - IAC's Ticketmaster announced on Tuesday that it will acquire TicketsNow, an online marketplace for music, sports and other live entertainment event tickets. [more..]

Santa Clara, Calif. - Macrovision, a provider of anti-piracy technology and informational databases on various media, said on Tuesday that its proposed $2.8 billion acquisition of interactive program guide company Gemstar-TV Guide has passed antitrust reviews by the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice. [more..]

Kirkland, Wash. - Digeo, a maker of digital video recorder devices and services under the Moxi brand name, announced on Tuesday that it will lay off nearly half of its staff, or 80 employees, and cancelled plans to release two new product lines. [more..]

Agoura Hills, Calif. - Video game publisher THQ announced on Tuesday it will acquire roleplaying game developer Big Huge Games for an undisclosed sum. [more..]

San Francisco - PlanetOut, the publisher of gay magazines The Advocate and Out and operator of websites including Gay.com, announced on Tuesday that it has retained Allen & Company to assist in the exploration of strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. [more..]

San Francisco - Metaweb Technologies, the developer of an expansive online database that aims to house all the world's data, has raised $42.4 million in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Benchmark Capital and Goldman Sachs, VentureBeat reports. [more..]

San Francisco - Zynga, a developer of online casual games designed for play on social networking sites, has raised $10 million in its first round of funding, led by Union Square Ventures, The New York Times reported. [more..]

Ottawa, Canada - Overlay.TV, a provider of online video ad technology, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $4.53 million in its first round of funding, led by Celtic House Venture Partners, EdgeStone Capital Partners and Tech Capital Partners. [more..]

While there was no “wow” product this time, the MacBook Air has a lot of potential, blogs Jay Baage. [more..]

Advertising practices may well have to be modified to respond to Washington dictates in the new year, blogs David Oxenford. [more..]

Facebook’s market share of UK internet visits to All Categories increased to 2.01% in December, blogs Robin Goad of Hitwise UK. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - Photobucket, the online photo-sharing site acquired last year by News Corp., on Tuesday announced the launch of a mobile version of its service, allowing users to upload and view photos on their cell phones. [more..]

Sioux Falls, S.D. - LodgeNet, a provider of in-room VOD and interactive entertainment systems to hotels, announced on Tuesday that it has brought its business units together under the new name, LodgeNet Interactive Corp., and will no longer use the brand names of recent acquisitions On Command and StayOnline. [more..]

Los Angeles - Time Warner's Warner Bros. on Tuesday announced an agreement with National CineMedia (NCM), the operator of an in-theater digital ad and entertainment network, whereby Warner will provide original, exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at upcoming films for display before films in theaters served by NCM. [more..]

Atlanta - Internap Network Services, a provider of Internet business services, announced on Tuesday that for the seventh year in a row it has been selected as the official provider of online video streaming services for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. [more..]

Arlington, Va. - PBS on Tuesday launched a beta test of PBS Kids Play, its new educational virtual world targeted at children ages 3-6. [more..]