Los Angeles - Nintendo's Wii was the top-selling video game console in the U.S. during the month of February, and its DS handheld outsold all other game hardware, according to sales data from market research firm NPD Group. [more..]

Washington - Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said on Thursday that he plans to provide more details in coming weeks on possible legislation that would overturn the U.S. Internet gambling ban, Reuters reported. [more..]

Redwood City, Calif. - Shares of BigBand Networks rose 31% on their first day of trading Thursday, just hours after the company priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $13 a share, more than its expected range of $10-$12. [more..]

Washington - Searchles, the developer of a social search platform, has received a letter demanding that the site "immediately discontinue" its practice of making available videos from Sony-owned video-sharing site Grouper.com, TechCrunch reported. [more..]

San Francisco - Online social network Friendster announced this week that it has been granted its third social networking-related patent, this time for a "system and method for managing connections in an online social network." [more..]

Sioux Falls, S.D. - LodgeNet, a provider of broadband and interactive TV services in hotel guest rooms, announced that it has received antitrust approval for its proposed $380 million acquisition of rival On Command, and expects to close the deal in the second quarter. [more..]

New York - College basketball fans going online Monday and Tuesday to fill out brackets for the NCAA Men's Div. I Basketball Tournament kicking off this week spread themselves fairly evenly across ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports and CBS SportsLine.com, according to data from Hitwise. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Expresso Fitness, a supplier of interactive cardio fitness systems, announced that it has raised $9.3 million in its third round of funding, which the company plans to use to expand its sales and production capabilities. [more..]

Milpitas, Calif. - SanDisk, a maker of flash memory storage media and MP3 players, announced on Friday that it has licensed patented MPEG Audio technology from Italy's Sisvel, ending litigation between the two companies. Financial terms of the license were not disclosed. The dispute also saw a court remove SanDisk's MP3 players from the floor of a technology trade show in Germany. Sisvel -- known in the U.S. as Audio MPEG -- has licensed its MP3 technology to around 600 other device makers and software developers. [more..]

Washington - TMZ.com, the popular Hollywood gossip site founded by former TV personality Harvey Levin, plans to launch a spin-off site in D.C. focused on juicy happenings inside the Beltway, The Washington Post reported. The Post reported that Levin is searching for a D.C. bureau chief and freelance writers for the site, to be known as TMZ DC. Sixteen-month-old TMZ, now a joint venture joint venture between Telepictures Productions and AOL, drew 8.4 million visitors last month -- or nearly twice as many as People.com. [more..]

San Francisco - IODA (Internet Online Distribution Alliance), a digital distributor of independent label music, announced this week that it has partnered with DownloadCentric on a new service that will allow its 3,000 label partners to sell digital music directly to fans on label and artist websites. The service will allow labels and artists to set their own prices for downloads, and include merchandise like CDs and t-shirts in online shopping carts. IODA said custom stores have already launched for Six Degrees Records, ABB Records, G7 Welcoming Committee Records and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. [more..]

Emeryville, Calif. - Orb Networks, a developer of "place-shifting" technology that lets users access premium home TV channels while away from home on Internet-connected devices, said on Friday that it has integrated its software with a set-top box made by Futarque. The set-top will offer both broadcast programming and all of the personal media on a user's PC, delivered to a TV, with Orb's MyCasting software serving as the bridge between the PC and set-top. [more..]

Los Angeles - Electronic Arts on Friday announced the launch of EA Sports Link, a mobile website where fans of the developer's sports games can read gaming and sports news, and connect with one another. Initially available for Cingular subscribers, EA plans to expand with other carriers in coming months. EA will also add the ability for users to trade information and challenge one another to live mobile games. [more..]