Arlington, Va. - PBS.org, the website of PBS, saw a 25% jump in site visits during the 2007-08 television season, compared with the prior year, according to new statistics released by Internet measurement service Hitwise. The site, in fact, finished third among the six commercial broadcast network web sites, drawing 18.9% of U.S. visits to trail only ABC and NBC. It led all six in visits for the weeks ending May 31, June 7, 14 and 21.

Arlington, Va. - Following two months of testing, PBS on Tuesday launched "PBS Kids Play," a subscription Internet service designed to help children ages 3-6 learn through interactive games.

Arlington, Va. - PBS said on Wednesday that much of its programming is now available for free on iTunes U, a dedicated area of Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store showcasing educational content. The content, which includes educational video clips, lectures, interviews, teachers' guides and a variety of other materials, is available in the Beyond Campus section of iTunes U.

Arlington, Va. - PBS on Tuesday launched a beta test of PBS Kids Play, its new educational virtual world targeted at children ages 3-6. The broadband, ad-free subscription service will cost $9.95 a month, or $79 annually, and offer games and activities that feature characters from PBS shows like "Curious George," "The Berenstain Bears" and "Mister Rogers."

San Jose, Calif. - Adobe Systems (NASD: ADBE), the developer of Web publishing software, said on Monday that its philanthropic arm, the Adobe Foundation Fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, has awarded $1 million to the PBS Foundation. The grant will establish PBS's Adobe Youth Voices Venture Fund, which will help support professional and student producers in creating broadcast programming focused on youth-related subject matter, and also incorporate youth-generated video, animation and photography into public television broadcasts and websites.

Arlington, Va. - PBS announced on Tuesday that it will begin offering full-length programming on Joost, the Internet-based television service. At launch, PBS will offer programs including "History Detectives" and "Scientific American Frontiers," as well as specials from its "Empires" collection.

Arlington, Va. - PBS, the public broadcasting organization serving 355 noncommercial television stations, said on Wednesday that it has signed separate deals to make its programming downloadable for purchase on video sites BitTorrent and Vuze.

Beverly Hills, Calif. - PBS announced this week that it has launched a dedicated section at the iTunes Store to showcase the works of documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. The area will offer films including "Jazz," "Brooklyn Bridge," "Frank Lloyd Wright," "Ken Burns: America" and "Ken Burns: American Lives."

Sausalito, Calif. - American Blog, a network of regional blogs that promotes collaboration between citizens, politicians and the community, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with PBS presenter Tavis Smiley to provide online support for "All-American Presidential Forums," a PBS live TV forum that will pose questions to the presidential candidates.

Arlington, Va. - PBS said on Tuesday that it has picked up the first season of "Wired Science," a new weekly primetime series produced by KCET in Los Angeles in association with Wired Magazine. The one-hour show will debut Oct. 3 and run for 10 weeks, chronicling "the scientific advances and technologies that are transforming the world."

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Arlington, Va. - In one of its largest Web undertakings ever, PBS said on Thursday that it has launched a major new portal for teachers. The organization said PBS Teachers houses all of PBS's educational resources and services for pre-K-12 teachers. The site provides information on ways to use media and technology in the learning environment, including curriculum resources, video products and online professional development opportunities. "The breadth of content showcased on the site will be valuable to teachers of all grade levels and subject areas," said Mary Kadera, PBS's vice president of education.