McLean, Va. - Clearspring Technologies, a provider of services that help media companies and advertisers syndicate and track widgets, said that it has launched its Widget Ad Network.

Dulles, Va. - AOL (NYSE: TW) said on Monday that it will begin using video ticker ads -- banner ads integrated within streaming videos that won't obstruct the video itself. Developed in conjunction with PointRoll, the new ads appear at the bottom of the video player 10 seconds into a video stream. When clicked by consumers, they expand to launch video or interactive Flash ads within the player's window, while the video pauses. If the user doesn't click on the ad, it will dissolve after 15 seconds, leaving behind a branded text link. AOL said that it plans to use the ads across its network of premium video content.

Conshohocken, Pa. - PointRoll, a unit of publisher Gannett that provides online ad technology, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with The Aura Group, a provider of Web and wireless ad technologies. Under the deal, The Aura Group will provide technology to PointRoll that will enable movie studios to text local showtimes to users' mobile devices directly via online advertisements. When a consumer rolls over a PointRoll rich media ad, they are prompted to enter their mobile number and zip code to receive local showtimes.