The BBC has plans to launch an online virtual world geared toward children. The site will be for 7-12 year olds and allow users to go online and explore content that will feature animation, games, music, and videos.
Baidu, EMI Partner, Launch Music Service
A search engine will soon provide its users with free music, but before you get too excited, know that the tunes are mostly Chinese in origin. And even fans of Asian music shouldn’t get too worked up, because the initial offering will be a streaming service (as opposed to a download service). Nonetheless, any and all thanks should be directed to Baidu and EMI.
Video Game Search Engine Eyes U.S. Launch
In a new round of capital funding, Wazap has received an additional $7.9 million as part of its effort to expand its presence into the United States. Currently, the gaming search engine is only available in the Chinese, Japanese, and German languages, respectively.
Amazon to Launch DRM-Free Music Store?
The rumor mill is running hot and heavy with underground rumblings that Amazon may be entering the digital music marketplace as early as the 2007 first quarter. It is speculated that the company will offer DRM-free mp3 tracks and offer a variable pricing structure for participating record labels.
UK Vista And Office 2007 Launch Tour
Just noticed on Ian Moulster’s Blog that from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th January the Microsoft UK developer team will be touring the country to bring the story to many organisations of all types.
Skype Founders To Launch Internet TV
The founders of Skype Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrm are close to launching their new Internet TV site, which is currently under the working name The Venice Project. Last year the pair sold their communications business to Ebay for $2.6 billion.
Social Networks Launch Brand Awareness
An interesting case study from Hitwise succinctly illustrates how social networks can serve as a launching pad to mainstream brand awareness. They’ve done this by tracking the rise in popularity of British rock band Lil’ Chris.
Performancing Partners to Launch Network Ads
ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse posted this morning that the Performancing Partners Ad Network will soon be launching non-site-targetted network ads.
Google, Yahoo & Microsoft Launch Sitemaps.org
Watch the Murdok exclusive video in which Chris Richardson interviews Tim Mayer of Yahoo and Vanessa Fox of Google. They talk about their new Sitemaps.org partnership.
The Launch of Google Politics
Last month, Google announced that it would form a political action committee to act in the political realm on behalf of the company’s interests. The group, labeled netPAC, is already beginning to endorse candidates running for office in the upcoming November elections.