New York - The founder and former CEO of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive on Wednesday became the first ex-CEO in the country to plead guilty to "backdating" stock options to make them more valuable to himself and company employees. [more..]

San Francisco - The AACS digital rights management (DRM) technology that protects content on Blu-ray and HD DVD discs against unauthorized copying has been cracked, Wired News reported on Wednesday. [more..]

San Francisco - A letter purportedly sent by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to a number of Internet service providers -- that was leaked and posted online -- asks ISPs to help persuade suspected file-swappers to settle RIAA lawsuits out of court, and also to circumvent the legal process by sending file-swappers copyright notices without a subpoena. [more..]

Mountain View, Calif. - Google has made its Gmail Web-based e-mail service available to all users, following a three-year stint where new users had to be invited to join by an existing user, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. [more..]

Maynard, Mass. - The New York Times Co. said on Wednesday that it has formed a new marketing partnership with online employment firm Monster Worldwide. [more..]

London - Universal Music U.K., part of major record label Universal Music Group, announced that it has signed an agreement with U.K. telco BT, to provide on-demand music videos on the BT Vision TV service and BT Vision download store. [more..]

New York - Major record label Warner Music Group announced on Wednesday that it has signed deals with wireless network operators Telenor and Orascom Telecom, to distribute ringtones and full-track downloads in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. [more..]

El Segundo, Calif. - Satellite TV provider DirecTV on Wednesday announced the launch of Game Lounge, an interactive TV casual games channel. [more..]

Los Angeles - Cartoon Network New Media, a unit of Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting, on Wednesday announced plans to introduce CallToons, a mobile application bundle that will include cartoon character-specific wallpapers, ringtones and other content. [more..]

Los Angeles - AniBoom, an Israel-based start-up that has created a video-sharing site for user-generated Flash animation videos, has raised $4.5 million in its first round of venture capital financing, led by Evergreen Ventures, TechCrunch reported.
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Toronto - Sirius Canada, the Canadian unit of the subscription radio service provider, announced on Wednesday that it has surpassed 300,000 subscribers, with more than 100,000 joining since November 22, 2006. Sirius radios are now available in more than 3,500 retail locations in Canada. New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio claims a total of more than 6 million subscribers. [more..]

Barcelona - Wireless trade group the GSM Association on Wednesday announced winners of its 12th Annual Global Mobile Awards, from its 3GSM Mobile Congress event in Barcelona, Spain. Winners included ShoZu (Most Innovative Mobile Application or Content); I-play's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo" (Best Mobile Game); Vodafone MeinPC (Best Mobile Music Service); and Marblemedia, NFB and Bravo's "Shorts in Motion: The Art of Seduction" (Best Mobile Video Service). A full list of winners is available from a link below. [more..]

Emeryville, Calif. - Online marketing firm Pheedo on Wednesday introduced a new platform that lets marketers use text and video RSS content to reach consumers and track their level of engagement. The FeedPowered platform places branded on-site ads that present dynamically updated text, audio or video content from any RSS feed, including YouTube feeds. From within the ad unit, consumers can subscribe to the RSS feed, e-mail a feed item or tag them on Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit and other aggregators. [more..]

Minneapolis - FUNimation Entertainment, a unit of Navarre Corporation that distributes Japanese animation in the U.S., announced on Wednesday that it has made episodes of top-rated anime series available for purchase and download from Apple's iTunes Store. Episodes of "Desert Punk," "Speed Grapher" and Akira Kurosawa's "Samurai 7" will be available for $1.99 each. [more..]

New York - Latin digital media company Voy announced on Wednesday that it will provide programming for Joost, the IPTV service launched by the creators of Kazaa and Skype. New York-based Voy will offer a number of branded channels on Joost, which is still in beta but will offer TV programming through a secure, peer-to-peer streaming technology accessible over a broadband connection. [more..]

Basking Ridge, N.J. - Verizon Wireless said on Wednesday that it has added new content channels from Fox Interactive Media's IGN Entertainment games site, and Viacom's BET to its V CAST mobile TV service. IGN will offer 50 video game-related segments per week, while BET will include clips from "College Hill," "106 & Park" and "BET's Comic View" on V CAST, which is available for an extra $15 per month or $3 per day to Verizon subscribers. [more..]

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo of America on Wednesday shipped its "Wii Play" game bundle for the Wii console to retailers. Similar to the "Wii Sports" bundle that ships with the Wii console, the new release offers nine games that utilize the Wii motion-sensing remote, including Fishing, Billiards, Shooting Range, Table Tennis and Laser Hockey. [more..]

New York - 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive, on Wednesday announced the release of its "Ghost Rider" game, based on the Marvel Comics title and Sony Pictures movie of the same name. The game was developed by Climax for PlayStation 2, PSP and Game Boy Advance. Separately, Take-Two's Rockstar Games unit said it released a Sony PSP version of its "The Warriors" game, based on the cult classic film. [more..]

Atlanta - GameTap, the broadband games and entertainment subscription service from Turner Broadcasting, said on Wednesday that it will launch developer Cyan Worlds' "Myst Online: Uru Live" game on Thursday. The latest installment in the franchise will combine massively multiplayer online game elements with the game's traditional mystery and problem-solving facets. [more..]

Los Angeles - Vivendi Games Mobile on Wednesday announced the roster of mobile game titles it plans to release in the first half of 2007, including several based on Sierra Entertainment games. The lineup includes "The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning"; "Surviving High School '07"; "Crash Bandicoot Party Games"; "People's Choice Hangman"; "M.A.C.H. Air Combat"; "The Incredible Machine"; and "Shock Blocks." [more..]

San Clemente, Calif. - London-based mobile game developer Superscape on Wednesday announced the launch of "Gretzky NHL 3D," a mobile hockey title featuring NHL star Wayne Gretzky. Superscape said the title is available for download from multiple carriers. [more..]