Los Angeles - The technology and entertainment firms that developed the AACS (Advanced Access Content System) security protecting next-generation Blu-ray and HD DVD discs have taken steps to block a breach found by hackers that allowed discs to be copied. [more..]

Philadelphia - Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider, announced on Wednesday that it will acquire Fandango, a movie showtimes and ticketing site that claims 4-5 million visitors per month. [more..]

New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive is among a list of defendants being sued by the creator of the "Ghost Rider" comic book, who claims the companies have violated his copyrights with the video game and other ancillary products related to the comic's recent movie spin-off, according to The Hollywood Reporter. [more..]

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s MySpace has taken steps to prevent its users from uploading videos hosted by Photobucket, which also hosts many of the images posted by MySpace users and claims some 40 million users, TechCrunch reported. [more..]

Tokyo - Sony Computer Entertainment is in talks with companies about potential commercial application of the same distributed computing technology utilized by Folding@Home, a Stanford University project that harnesses the computing power of PlayStation 3 consoles to conduct medical research, the Financial Times reported. [more..]

Los Angeles - Television and film producer Norman Lear's Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan, nonprofit voter registration organization, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Yahoo, MySpace, YouTube, Evite, Friendster and others to promote its 2008 campaign efforts. [more..]

Atlanta - HowStuffWorks, a provider of online educational content about practical subjects, has raised $75 million in venture capital, according to published reports. [more..]

San Mateo, Calif. - Aggregate Knowledge, a provider of personalized recommendations for content publishers and online retailers, announced on Wednesday that it has added $20 million to its second round of venture capital financing, from DAG Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. [more..]

Los Angeles - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) announced on Wednesday that it has made select titles from its catalog available for purchase and download from Apple's iTunes Store. MGM said initial offerings include "Mad Max," "Rocky," "Dances With Wolves" and "The Great Train Robbery," with other titles to be added in the coming weeks. Apple said that iTunes' library of over 500 films have now been downloaded more than 2 million times. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - Facebook, the second-largest social network behind MySpace, on Wednesday launched a redesign of its site, designed to add new messaging functionality and make navigation easier. The company also launched more than 47,000 network portal pages for different regions, companies and schools. Each network will list statistics such as number of members, gender, political views and relationship status, aggregated from information its more than 18 million users choose to list in their profiles. [more..]

Berlin - Universal Pictures International Entertainment and NBC Universal International Television Distribution have signed a deal with German telco T-Com to distribute download-to-own media content in Germany, Variety reported. The company will be the first in Germany to offer the ability to download Hollywood films and burn them to DVD, with most offered day-and-date with their DVD releases. T-Com will offer Universal and NBC content via its T-Home IPTV and T-Online video-on-demand services. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - LinkedIn, the developer of an online professional network, said on Wednesday that it has reached 10 million users. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said that its network is currently growing at a rate of over 130,000 members a week, most joining after receiving an invitation from a friend or colleague. [more..]

Tokyo - Japanese wireless carrier KDDI plans this month to launch a service in the U.S. for Japanese residents and visiting tourists, Billboard reported, citing an article in The Asahi Shimbun. The KDDI Mobile service will use leased space on Sprint's wireless network, and offer ringtones and social networking services, in addition to discount calls to Japan. KDDI eventually plans to expand the offering to other Asian U.S. residents, as well as offer services in Europe and other Asian nations. [more..]

New York - Sirius Satellite Radio said on Wednesday that it partnered with E! Entertainment Television on a new call-in show, "YO on E!," hosted by Miami-based DJ Michael Yo. The three-hour show, which focuses on entertainment news and solicits calls, e-mails and text messages from listeners, launched on Sirius on Monday. [more..]

Bethesda, Md. - Kajeet, a provider of cell phone service for children between the ages of 8 and 14, announced on Wednesday a strategic partnership with Nickelodeon. Under the deal, kajeet will offer customers mobile content -- including downloadable ringtones, wallpapers, and games -- from Nickelodeon shows including "Rugrats" and "SpongeBob SquarePants." Kajeet announced last year that it had raised $27 million from Bessemer Venture Partners, Gabriel Venture Partners, InterWest Partners and FidelityVentures. [more..]

London - Guinness World Records has announced plans to publish a video game edition of its annual records book, GamesIndustry.biz reported. Editor-in-chief Craig Glenday told GamesIndustry.biz that a video game section launched several years ago, which contains information like high scores and data on console and game sales, has been one of the most popular sections among core readers. Separately, Guinness announced that it has signed a deal to offer clips of the U.K. TV show "Ultimate Guinness World Records" through Joost, the streaming P2P video service founded by the creators of Kazaa and Skype. [more..]

Waltham, Mass. - Lycos on Wednesday announced the re-launch of Gamesville, a site that offers cash prizes in free games like poker, trivia and bingo. Launched in 1996, Gamesville was acquired by Lycos in 1999. The site has been re-launched with a "retro" design and new interstitial video ad format that has attracted advertisers including Honda, Chili's, Oreo and Kellogg's. [more..]