Washington - Google (NASD: GOOG) on Monday sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging the agency to allow unused portions of the TV spectrum -- or "white space" -- to be used to provide wireless Internet access nationwide. "The unique qualities of the TV white space -- unused spectrum, large amounts of bandwidth, and excellent propagation characteristics -- offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans," Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media counsel, writes in the letter.

San Francisco - A group of hardware and software creators, game developers and publishers on Thursday announced the formation of the PC Gaming Alliance, a non-profit whose stated purposed is to advance the PC as a worldwide gaming platform. Members include Acer/Gateway, Activision Publishing, AMD, Dell/Alienware, Epic Games, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia and Razer. Market research firm DFC Intelligence projects the PC game business will grow more than 80% over the next five years, with major increases in the number of PC gamers, revenue from digital distribution, and PC hardware sales.

San Mateo, Calif. - MixerCast, a provider of social media marketing tools and services, announced on Wednesday that it has closed a $6 million second round of funding, led by Intel Capital.

London - U.K. broadband service BT Vision on Wednesday announced the launch of a test of a new service that will offer users free online film rentals for watching targeting advertisements. The company partnered with Hiro Media, Intel and FremantleMedia Enterprises on the three-month trial at the BT Download Store, which will initially offer three films: "Mischief Night," "Played" and "The Punk Rock Movie." U.K. viewers will be asked to download free video software from Hiro Media, and also provide anonymous demographic information that will allow the software to dynamically target ads.

New York - BlackArrow, a provider of multiplatform ad management for viewer-controlled video, has raised $12 million in its second round of venture capital financing.

Santa Clara, Calif. - Intel announced late on Friday that it will acquire Havok, a developer of software and services used by creators in the game and movie industries, for an undisclosed sum.

Washington - The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), whose members include major broadcast and cable TV networks, have launched lobbying efforts against proposals to use vacant TV channels to deliver high-speed Internet access, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.

Washington - Microsoft plans to submit a filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday, that disputes the agency's recent finding that prototype devices designed to receive Internet service beamed over unused TV spectrum will cause interference, the Washington Post reported.

Washington - Several prototypes of devices that can transmit broadband Internet service over unused portions of the TV broadcast spectrum, developed by companies including Google, Microsoft and Dell, have failed a Federal Communications Commission interference test, the Associated Press reported.

Santa Clara, Calif. - Chipmakers Intel and STMicroelectronics, along with private equity firm Francisco Partners, on Tuesday announced plans to create a new independent semiconductor company that will focus on flash memory for cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and other consumer electronics.

Beijing - MobiTV, a provider of mobile TV and music delivery services, announced that it has partnered with Intel to optimize its service for use on Intel chip-powered laptops, Ultra Mobile Personal Computers and mobile devices. MobiTV and Intel also expect to work on next-generation platforms and services to personalize and improve the user experience.

Washington - A coalition of large technology firms -- including Microsoft, Google, Dell, HP, Intel and Philips -- have asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow unused TV channels ("white space") to be used for distribution of Internet access into homes and offices, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

In one of the more interesting campaigns to come out of Ogilvy PR's Digital Influence team yet, we (Ogilvy PR) are helping Intel to launch a stunt during the Digital Life event which will place one of the top builders from Second Life, Versu Richelieu, in a storefront window in Manhattan (on 39th and 5th) for 72 hours.  We are working with Millions of Us to pull this together. We will be creating a real time event where Versu will be building something (it's still a mystery) in the virtual world and have a live feed so people can watch her doing it, either in the virtual world or the real world.  You can view the live feed at www.nyclivewindow.com starting Thursday.  At the end of the 72 hours will be a great twist and along the way she will be collaborating with other builders (including Robbie Dingo), Second Life residents, and anyone else who decides to stop by.

Note: This post originally appeared on my blog, Influential Interactive Marketing. My bio can be viewed here.