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Weekly internet update

The North East Regional Portal’s head of e-business, Pascal Fintoni, shares his take on the latest in the world of internet marketing…

In the news: Telecoms giants BT are currently under investigation for alleged privacy breaches according to the Telegraph, after it was revealed that they allowed an outside company to monitor the web activities of thousands of broadband customers.

A blog by the BBC’s internet chief has put increasing strain on the broadcaster’s already poor relationship with internet service providers. Ashley Highfield appeared to scold ISPs for daring to complain about having to absorb the costs generated by the huge increase in traffic since the iPlayer was released.

The BBC report that Australian company Heap Media have released ‘Blackle’, a search engine that bears remarkable similarities to Google, but by contrast uses an all black background instead of all while. Heap media claim that as black pixels use less energy than while ones, ‘Blackle’ is far more energy efficient than Google.

Weeks after we reported the rumours about MySpace Music, Reuters report that the potential iTunes rival could be launched as early as next week. MySpace Music is affiliated to Sony BMG and Universal Music and will offer streaming music, MP3 downloads, concert tickets and ringtones.

Plug of the Week: 33 budding North East entrepreneurs have been awarded funding to set up an online business trading on eBay from their homes. In addition to funding to buy equipment, the entrepreneurial hopefuls will receive training on how to use eBay, as well as access to an online community where they can share advice.

Story of the Week: The FAA has apparently awarded permits to American Airlines Wi-Fi provider Aircell, meaning that work can now get underway to provide in-flight Wi-Fi access to passengers. Neither cost nor a release date have yet been revealed, but how long will it be before in-flight surfing is commonplace on aircraft?

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .