McLean, Va. - Clearspring Technologies said that its widget syndication and tracking service has been independently audited and accredited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations Interactive (ABCi). It marks the first time a widget company has had its numbers validated by an outside agency. The ABCi concluded that, as of June 16, Clearspring fairly stated the metrics for its widget platform and employed the necessary internal controls and processes to ensure proper delivery and tracking of widgets.

McLean, Va. - Clearspring Technologies, a provider of services that help media companies and advertisers syndicate and track widgets, said on Wednesday that it has raised $18 million in its third round of funding.

Denver - Radio broadcaster Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) is looking to add a personalized Web radio player to its station websites, and is in talks with Pandora, but no deal has yet been finalized, Billboard reports.

Los Angeles - The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the video game industry's voluntary agency that provides game ratings for parents, on Tuesday began offering a new widget that can be placed on websites and social network profiles, or downloaded to a desktop, that will provide easy access to ratings on over 14,000 titles. "Last year, the ratings search feature of our website was incredibly popular, with more than 4 million ratings searches having been conducted," said ESRB president Patricia Vance. "There's clearly a huge appetite among consumers for ratings information, and providing this widget will make it that much easier for them to make informed purchase or rental decisions."