New York - Major record label EMI has held discussions with online retailers on potentially opening its entire catalog for sale in the unprotected MP3 format, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. [more..]

New York - ABC.com sold out all video ads inventory for streaming TV shows in Q4 and Q1, and the network has secured agreements from 80 percent of its affiliates to incorporate local ads into the player. This was revealed on Thursday by Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks, reports the television blog Lost Remote. [more..]

Washington - A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Friday would create a national database of child pornography images -- both real and "cartoon" -- and require Internet service providers to monitor traffic and report such images to authorities. [more..]

Washington - XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio service to more than 7.6 million subscribers, is negotiating a deal to sell its XM-4 satellite for as much as $300 million, and then lease it back, Barron's Online reported. [more..]

London - The number of homes worldwide with HDTV sets is expected to triple over the next five years, to 151 million, according to a report from market research firm Informa Telecoms & Media. [more..]

San Jose, Calif. - Networking equipment maker Cisco Systems on Friday announced its first foray into the social networking space, with its acquisition of Five Across, a developer of technology that lets companies augment their websites to add social networking and user-generated content functionality. [more..]

Los Angeles - Sony's Columbia Pictures is in talks to acquire the motion picture rights to Japanese developer Konami's "Metal Gear Solid" video game, which to date has generated more than $1 billion and 20 million unit sales, according to The Hollywood Reporter. [more..]

Las Vegas - Developer Epic Games' "Gears of War" title took home eight honors, including Game of the Year, Thursday night at the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, an event organized by The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) at the industry's annual D.I.C.E. Summit. [more..]

Atlanta - The Weather Channel, a producer of weather-related content, has formed a new ventures group that will seek acquisitions and new business opportunities for The Weather Channel Interactive (TWCi). [more..]

New York - Sportsvite, an online social network for recreational athletes, teams and leagues, announced on Friday that it has raised $2 million in its first round of venture capital financing, from Grace Drive Management. [more..]

Detroit - Toyota on Thursday launched two new versions of its Scion brand, simultaneously at the Chicago Auto Show and in the virtual world Second Life. The company held a virtual press conference within Second Life at the same time as the real-world event in Chicago. The virtual Scion xB and xD cars can be purchased in Second Life for 300 "Linden dollars," equivalent to $1 U.S. dollar. "That's our target demographic -- people who do things first. Trendsetters are instrumental in promoting brands," Adrian Si, Scion's interactive marketing manager, told Reuters. [more..]

San Antonio, Texas - AT&T on Friday introduced Smart Limits, a new website that provides directions on how to use parental controls across its mobile phone, broadband, video and home phone services. The site includes information on topics like Internet filters, and TV channel and phone-number blockers. [more..]

Seattle - RealNetworks' "Super Collapse! 3" won the honor of Casual Game of the Year Thursday night at the First Annual Zeebys Awards. The event was organized by the Casual Games Association and Gamezebo and held at Casual Connect Europe in Amsterdam. A full list of winners is available at a link below. [more..]

Chicago - Playboy Enterprises announced on Friday that it has partnered with Bondi Digital Publishing to create a DVD box set containing all of the magazine's issues from its 53-year history. The DVDs will contain all of the original photographs, articles, cartoons and ads, and will be searchable on a computer. Released by decade, the first two sets comprising the 1950s and 1960s are set to ship in October. Each decade's box set will retail for $100 and include a 200-page companion book. 
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Portland, Ore. - The NBA's Portland Trail Blazers on Friday announced the launch of the first official online social network for an NBA team, developed in partnership with Affinity Circles. Iamatrailblazersfan.com lets users create profiles, join groups, share photos, post comments, and connect with the team. [more..]

Amsterdam - Digital security firm Gemalto on Friday launched a program, supported by France's Industrial Innovation Agency, aimed at establishing and promoting a new industrial standard for mobile multimedia service. The MaXSSIMM program will combine a sim card, mobile phone and operator servers to allow developers to more rapidly deploy new multimedia services for phones. Supporters include chipmakers ST Microelectronics, NXP and TOPPAN; handset maker Sagem Communication; telecom Orange; and service provider Amadeus. Gemalto said live trials using the finalized technologies are expected in 2009. [more..]

Los Angeles - Vivendi Games' Sierra Online announced on Friday that it will publish a title based on the SCI FI Channel series "Battlestar Galactica" for the PC and Xbox Live Arcade. Developed by Australia-based Auran Games and slated for release in the fall of 2007, "Battlestar Galactica" will feature both single and multiplayer modes. [more..]