Google has begun hosting news items produced by The Associated Press and three other news services on its own web site.
In the past two years, the internet search giant negotiated licensing deals with the AP and Agence France Presse, The Press Association in the United Kingdom and The Canadian Press. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The news services had raised concerns about whether Google had been infringing on their copyrights, by sending readers to their destinations.
The move could, however, reduce internet traffic to other media sites where those stories and pictures are also found. Further, this could reduce the online advertising revenue of newspapers and broadcasters.
This means that now visitors on Google in reading an AP story will remain on Google's website unless they click on a link that enables them to read the same story elsewhere.
Previously, because wire services' Web sites typically feature either a small sample or none of their stories, the way to read their articles was go to the sites of their syndication clients, such as newspapers.
Google reasons that under this new approach, readers won't have to pore through search results listing the same story posted on different sites. That would make it easier to discover other news stories at other Web sites that might previously have been buried.
Google News Product manager Josh Cohen said, "This may result in certain publishers losing traffic for their news wire stories, but it will allow more room for original content."
Despite Google's dominance in search, its news section lags behind rival Yahoo. According to comScore Media Metrix data, in July, Google News attracted 9.6 million visitors compared to Yahoo News' 33.8 million.
Google has not made any immediate plans to run ads alongside the news hosted on its site.
Google stitches license deals to host news on site
Victoria Beckham to guest star on 'Ugly Betty'
Soccer star David Beckham's wife and member of pop group Spice Girls Victoria Beckham will pay a visit to US broadcaster ABC's comedy Ugly Betty in an episode.
She will play herself, a celebrity bridesmaid at the 'wedding of the millennium': Wilhelmina Slater's (Vanessa Williams) nuptials to publishing mogul Bradford Meade (Alan Dale).
In India the show airs on Star World.
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt Shifted to other Jail
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who was sentenced for six years for keeping illegal weapons, has been shifted from Arthur Road Jail to Thaney jail due to security fears.
According to an Indian tv, the administration had requested to the court to shift Sanjay Dutt from the court to any other jail due to security risks.
IG jail Satish Mathar said that Sanjay Dutt would not be kept in one jail permanently but due to security risks he would be kept in different jails.
Yahoo, AOL plan to charge users for sending 'direct' emails
A new digital divide is set to separate the haves from the have-nots, with two internet giants endorsing a system that gives preferential treatment to emails sent by paying subscribers.
America Online (AOL) and Yahoo, two of the world's largest providers of email accounts, plan to start charging an optional fee to send email directly into user inboxes without going through junk mail filters, a media report said here.
Users will now have to pay from a quarter of a cent to 1 cent per email to ensure their messages are marked as certified and grab the attention of the receiver.
"The Internet companies say this will help them identify legitimate mail and cut down on junk email, identity-theft scams and other scourges that plague users of their services," the New York Times reported on Sunday.
The companies also stand to earn millions of dollars a year from the system if it is widely adopted, the daily said.
In the next two months, AOL will start accepting email processed by the US-based Goodmail Systems which will collect the electronic postage and verify the identity of the sender.
Unpaid emails will be subject to AOL's spam filtering process which diverts suspicious messages to a spam folder.
Meanwhile, Yahoo has said it will start trying out Goodmail's system in the coming months but has not yet decided how paid email will be differentiated from unpaid.
"In a broader sense, the move to create what is essentially a preferred class of email is a major change in the economics of the Internet. Until now, senders and recipients of email...Each covered their own costs of using the network, with no money changing hands," the daily said.
Source-hindustantimes.com
Filmy to ride on Rajnikanth wave, acquires non-Hindi movies
Riding high on the Rajnikanth wave, Filmy will begin a festival of movies starring the South Indian superstar under the title Shaniwaar ki Raat Rajnikanth ki Laat.
The films will be screened every Saturday at 8 pm starting 11 August. Sahara's Filmy channel has acquired titles like Johny Ustaad, Dushmanon ka Dushman and Ilaka but has stayed away from the recent grosser Sivaji.
Filmy, in fact, is eyeing the non-Hindi film segment. It has recently acquired some South Indian films and is looking to acquire Bhojpuri films as well.
Says Filmy business head Shailesh Kapoor, "We have acquired some South Indian films starring actors like Rajnikanth, Mammooty and Surya that will be dubbed in Hindi and screened on the channel from August."
Post September, the channel plans to leverage the popularity of Bhojpuri cinema and infuse fortnightly screenings of the same. The channel has earlier shown the Amitabh Bacchan starrer Bhojpuri film Ganga on 22 April.
Kapoor says, "Being a Hindi movie channel, our focus is not on Bhojpuri films but looking at their current popularity, we are in talks to acquire few big ticket Bhojpuri movies."
The channel has also spruced up their programming mix by introducing a Sunday morning slot for kids between 10 am to 2 pm. Presently the channel is showing The Jungle Book which will be followed by other properties which the channel claims are unexposed to Indian audiences.
Kapoor says, "There are a few locally produced shows that will be aired. We will also showcase some international properties which will be dubbed in Hindi and shown in the same slot soon after The Jungle Book concludes in September."
Apart from movies, Filmy recently announced its first reality show Bathroom Singer for which auditions are under way. The weekly show will be a Sunday prime-time offering and will go on air from 26 August.
Former Bollywood actress Monica Bedi has been released from jail a day after she was given bail by a special court.
A smiling Bedi stepped out of the Chanchalguda jail, in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, 20 months after she was incarcerated.
She had been convicted and sentenced in a case of passport forgery.
Bedi was extradited from Portugal in 2005 along with Abu Salem, a prime suspect in the 1993 bombings in Mumbai that killed more than 250 people.
The two were arrested in Portugal in 2002.
The prosecution said Bedi and Abu Salem secured passports from India's Andhra Pradesh state with false information.
Bedi's lawyers have always denied that she was Abu Salem's girlfriend. They said she had been held hostage.
A confident and relaxed looking Bedi walked through the huge iron gates of the jail, accompanied by her father and uncle.
The special court in Hyderabad issued her release orders on Tuesday, but as the orders could not reach the jail superintendent during office hours, her release was delayed by a day.
A crowd of curious onlookers gathered outside the jail on Wednesday morning as word spread about her release.
Bedi was released after her father paid the bail amount of $600 (25,000 rupees) in the special court.
Bedi also gave an undertaking that she would not leave her village [Chabbewal in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab] without informing the local police.
"Initially it was difficult, but later I adjusted to the life in prison. There was no other way," she told journalists after her release.
Asked about her future plans, Bedi said her top priority would be to spend time with her family.
Bedi said she had received several offers both from the Hindi film industry in Mumbai and the Telugu film industry in Hyderabad.
"I will return to Hyderabad to work here," she said.
The BBC's Omer Farooq in Hyderabad says Bedi hit the big time after she became a "friend" of the underworld don Abu Salem who had considerable sway over Bollywood.
Authorities in India say that Mr Salem, an Indian Muslim, is a key associate of India's "crime lord" Dawood Ibrahim - wanted in connection with the Mumbai (Bombay) train bombings of 1993.
Abu Salem also faces murder, extortion and kidnapping charges in a number of cases.
Priyanka Chopra back on the ramp with Madhur Bhandarkar
Shilpa Shetty's career in meltdown?
Celebrity Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty's career is allegedly going into meltdown.
The Sun newspaper quotes sources as revealing that the 32-year-old Bollywood star's management is being sued over thousands of pounds allegedly owed to creditors.
She has been dropped by PR guru Max Clifford after a string of rows with aides.
AdvertisementAnd Kavita Kundra, 25, accused the Celebrity Big Brother winner of stealing her film producer husband Raj, 31.
The claims have hit Shilpa's image after she won praise for enduring racist taunts on the CH4 reality show.
Meanwhile, London law firm Carter Ruck, which gave her legal guidance, is suing her management company Cine Entertainment for about £10,000.
And security firm CTR Services claims it is owed £3,000. There are said to be other creditors.
Last night Mr Kundra insisted he split from his wife before meeting the Bollywood actress.
Shilpa's agent Farhath Hussain said he was in the process of paying the bills.
The coming age of interactive video game ads
Double Fusion,a company that arranges for ads to appear in video games, has conducted a study that it says proves the effectiveness of marketing to gamers. Using focus groups and laser-eye tracking -- a system that determines what a player is looking at while he's hammering away at a game -- Double Fusion has found that more than 80 percent of players notice ads in games. An ad has to appear on-screen for as little as a half second before a gamer recognizes it, says the company.
But here's the most interesting finding: Ads that function as three-dimensional objects in games -- say there's a certain brand of cell phone your character has to use to communicate with others -- make for extremely effective advertisements. And according to Jonathan Epstein, Double Fusion's CEO, we'll soon be seeing many more such 3D marketing efforts in all the games we play.
Double Fusion's study looked at various kinds of ads -- billboards, sponsored instant-replays in sports games, etc. -- in almost a dozen games of different styles and on all major consoles. The three-dimensional ad elements had the advantage of time -- they were on the screen longer than any other ad objects.
A typical billboard ad in the first-person shooter game "Rainbow Six: Vegas" appears on screen for about 25 seconds, and a gamer only looks at it about 4 percent of that time. But 3D objects -- like Dodge pickups scattered throughout "Rainbow Six" -- are on-screen for almost six minutes, and because gamers must use the elements as part of the action, they look at them for a quarter of the time they're displayed.
There's another marketing benefit to 3D objects: the ads grab hold of gamers' brains during what Epstein calls a "heightened emotional state." That Dodge pickup just saved your life! Now you may see Dodge in a whole new light -- or at least Chrysler hopes so.
Epstein says that Double Fusion and other ad firms are perfecting technology to make these 3D ads "dynamic"; advertisers will be able to change in-game objects after a game has been published. Imagine that game makers originally allowed your character to use a Samsung cell phone, but now Samsung has released a new model. Through an Internet connection, marketers can serve the game details of the new phone.
Were this any other medium, I'd be troubled by technological improvements that help out advertisers. But marketers' encroachment into games don't work me up very much -- and according to Double Fusion's study, most gamers feel the same way.
For one thing, just about every major title features some kind of in-game spots; ads are now a routine part of games, and it's no surprise they'll get more ubiquitous. Advertising also makes games more realistic. It would seem strange to play a racing game whose verhicles weren't plastered with logos. Or imagine going down a city street in a crime-fighting game and not seeing any billboards. The real world's wired up with ads -- so why not virtual worlds, too?
Ten Sports sells terrestrial rights to Bangladesh TV
Taj Television Ltd, which runs Ten Sports, has sold the exclusive terrestrial rights of the Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka to terrestrial broadcaster Bangladesh Television.
The deal was concluded in conjunction with Ardent Marketing Ltd. and will provide viewers throughout Bangladesh the opportunity to enjoy live coverage of the ODI matches between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Taj TV has concluded deals worldwide, providing its cricket coverage to its international broadcast partners which include Zee in Europe, DirecTV in North America and Astro in Malaysia.
With these syndication arrangements in place, in addition to Ten Sports coverage, the Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka is expected to be seen in over 70 million homes globally. Launched in April 2002, Taj TV’s Ten Sports is broadcast from Sharjah, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco throughout the Indian sub-continent and Asia, as well as in the United States (Cricket Plus), Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Ten Sports also owns the exclusive rights for WWE, the UEFA Champions League, the U.S. Open tennis and World Cup hockey.
Source-indiantelevision.com
Bollywood Needs Dozens Of New Actors: Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher says there is a dearth of actors in Bollywood and that is why he is making his second directorial venture with newcomer Ruslaan Mumtaz, who recently made his debut in the teenybopper romance 'Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar'.
'The industry needs at least three dozen new actors. There are just a handful of stars now ruling Bollywood. Most filmmakers cannot afford them. We sincerely need to cultivate new talent,' Anupam told IANS.
Ruslaan is an ex-student of Anupam's acting school Actor Prepares.
'Whether it's Ruslaan or Sammir Dattani or even my own son Sikandar, these boys have the talent and the will to excel. That's where our acting school comes in. We're trying to create a talent bank for Bollywood. And if I don't use my own students, why would other directors do the same?' he asked.
'Ruslaan is an ex-student from my acting school and my proudest product so far. For my second attempt at direction I needed a face that was sensitive and vulnerable,' added Anupam.
Anupam toyed with the idea of casting Ruslaan after the young actor's appearance in 'Mera Pehle Pehla Pyar' got him encouraging reports.
'But the clincher for me was the boy's second film 'Tere Sang' which Satish Kaushik is directing for our production company. Ruslaan's confidence level, his dancing and emoting were just right for the character I have in mind.'
Anupam's untitled directorial venture is a romantic film and goes on the floors in January or February.
'All I can say right now is that it's going to be a young film about young aspirations. And it will touch on contemporary issues,' he said.
His first directorial venture was a family drama titled 'Om Jai Jagdish'. He worked with heavyweights like Waheeda Rehman, Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar in the film, which also had Abhishek Bachchan, Fardeen Khan and Mahima Chaudhary.
After Google, now Microsoft to curtail web-search storage
Microsoft has announced that it will try to cut down on Web search storage and is making attempts at calling on the search and advertising industry to develop a common set of privacy practices.
Microsoft chief privacy strategist Peter Cullen said, "We think we as an industry ought to take a look at ways to further enhance privacy protections. We are trying to make sure that people have the ability to have a trusted experience."
He said that these steps are part of an effort to create an industry consensus on privacy practices.
Specifically, Microsoft would make all Web search query data anonymous after 18 months on its 'Live Search' service, unless it receives user consent to store it longer.
Microsoft plans to store customer search data separately from data tied to people, e-mail addresses or phone numbers and take steps to assure no unauthorized correlation of these types of data can be made.
It also will permanently remove "cookie" user identification data, Web address or other identifiers.
Last week Ask.com unveiled Askeraser, a service that will allow Ask.com users to change their privacy preferences at any time.
The Microsoft iniative follows last week's announcement by Google on cutting down on cookie storage. Both the internet giants face scrutiny from European and U.S giants over their plans to merge with major players in the online advertising industry.
Shilpa Shetty faces accusations of being a marriage-wrecker
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, winner of Big Brother reality TV show and a recent recipient of a honorary doctorate from Leeds University, has been accused of wrecking a marriage by a UK-based film producer's wife.
According to the News of the World tabloid, 25-year-old Kavita Kundra claimed the 32-year-old Bollywood diva is now "an item with her film producer husband Raj".
"Our marriage was in a rough patch but I was certain we could make it work for the sake of our new baby daughter. But then along came Shilpa. Suddenly Raj changed and now he wants a divorce," Kavita told the tabloid.
Reacting to the report, Shilpa's spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar said in Mumbai, "the two are just friends, however cliched it may sound."
"All these rumours of Shilpa and Raj getting married are baseless. Raj is the licensor of the perfume Shilpa launched recently, so obviously they were seen together at public places," Bhagwagar said.
Asked about his relationship with Shilpa, Raj, 31, also told the tabloid: "We're just friends. I have a business relationship with Shilpa regarding her perfume. My marriage ended 12 months ago and it was nothing to do with Shilpa."
Later he telephoned to say he had only been estranged from his wife for nine months, according to the tabloid.
Bhagwagar also said the two met only four months ago, whereas Raj and Kavita separated 10 months back. "There is no question of Shilpa breaking their marriage."
According to Kavita, Raj broke the news of his secret relationship with Shilpa in February after she found fame in the Big Brother house as the victim of racist bullying.
Kavita admitted their three-year marriage had been through a rocky patch, but insisted: "Up until then Raj had been talking about putting it back together, making things work for the sake of our daughter."
Kavita's remarks come after a week of gossip fuelled by snaps of Shilpa and Raj -- who helped launch her S2 perfume -- shopping together. He also escorted her to a recent "Bollywood Oscars" bash in Yorkshire.
Bollywood diva charges £20,000 for a chat
As befitting of her role as one of Bollywood's leading stars, Shilpa Shetty donned her sari and posed with the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone last week to help promote India Now, London's three-month celebration of Indian culture.
"Cultural respect and encouraging a deeper understanding of Indian traditions through a celebration of diversity, art, dance and food is obviously an issue close to my heart, which is why I am delighted to be a part of these events," gushed Shetty.
Well-intentioned as the actress's motives no doubt were, her services didn't exactly come cheap. When journalists following the event enquired after interviews with the comely star to speak about her noble cause, they were informed by organisers not only would their publications have to pay for the pleasure, but it was likely to cost them somewhere in the region of £20,000.
Leaving aside the sums involved, hacks were stunned that Shetty wouldn't be champing at the bit for the exposure. Despite winning Celebrity Big Brother - and some News of the World scandal yesterday over her private life - Shetty could hardly be considered a household name.
When questioned about the matter, organisers of India Now, however, were unmoved. "Sorry, but we've been told by her people that this is the usual sort of fee she'd ask for," I'm told.
"But I am certain it is something that could be negotiated."
Daniel has Hitler in his sights
You wait ages for one film about the plot to assassinate Hitler, and then two come along at once.
Tom Cruise is in Berlin filming Valkyrie, in which he plays the 1944 plot's ringleader Claus von Stauffenberg.
Now, plans are afoot to bring the British novelist Justin Cartwright's acclaimed tome The Song Before It is Sung to the big screen.
A mole recently spotted Cartwright in Los Angeles enjoying a meal with moody actor Daniel Day-Lewis.
I'm reliably informed that Cartwright is keen for the reclusive British thespian - star of The Last of the Mohicans - to play the book's protagonist Adam von Trott, one of Stauffenberg's main accomplices.
"The book has been very well received in the States and got a cracking write-up in the LA Times recently," I'm told. "As you can imagine, once that happens the producers usually spring into action."
When Kirsty's pupils dilated
Kirsty Young's recent interview with Yoko Ono on Desert Island Discs proved to be something of a marmalade dropper.
During the course of the programme, Ono revealed to Young she had strongly considered aborting her son by John Lennon, Sean.
"When something like that happens, you just have to sit on your hands and hope your guest doesn't spot your pupils dilating," Young told me at the recent Grazia magazine awards. "I suppose the trick is to behave like you're at a dinner party, and act natural.
"As soon as Yoko said it, though, I could just sense her publicist turning towards my producer in absolute horror."
Prezza punt
Whoa there, hold your horses Prezza! John Prescott's online entry in political bible Dod's Parliamentary Companion has him down as "Leader, UK parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe".
It's a little premature, since the election for the council's vacant leadership isn't until tonight. And while a number of Labour delegates aren't best pleased at the way Prescott reckons he's a shoo-in for the job (and are hoping for an upset), the former deputy prime minister isn't to blame.
Says a spokesman for Dod's: "Honestly, it's our fault it's there, not Prescott's. We are aware the election isn't until Monday night, but we thought putting it in now would be a pretty safe punt."
Please - not so coy, Vanessa ...
It's backs against the wall over at the BBC, where Mark "Mad Dog" Thompson is cracking down after a string of recent embarrassments. At a recent function for Rosé d'Anjou, I asked Vanessa Feltz about Boris Johnson standing for Mayor of London, but the usually rambunctious blonde was somewhat vague. "I couldn't possibly say anything. I'm not allowed," she said. "I'm strictly forbidden. Really, I'm a BBC reporter, I can't say anything."
Feltz kept her cards so close to her chest it was almost impossible to guess who she'd be backing. "All I really will say is that I'm absolutely delighted Boris is running and it will add to the gaiety of nations," she added. "I can't comment on Ken as I am a Beeb reporter, but, God, it's great Boris is running. But I mustn't say anything at all."
Reliance's Bluemagic to use Measat-3 satellite for DTH
Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's Bluemagic will use Measat-3 satellite and is planning to launch its direct-to-home (DTH) service in the last quarter of this year.
Reliance has signed a deal with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) for using the foreign satellite from the Astro Group, a source close to the company says. Measat had made its Ku-band transponders available and Isro was studying it technically to make an internal evaluation.
Isro has in principle agreed to allow Measat offer its Ku-band transponders to Indian DTH operators, the source confirms. Reliance wants Measat's eight Ku-band transponders, he adds.
When contacted, Isro contract management and legal services director SB Iyer refused to comment. He had, however, told Indiantelevision earlier that the coordination with Measat was in the final stages and Isro would take a decision after a month.
Reliance's Bluemagic will be using MPEG-4 compression technology which will allow it to pack in more channels per transponder. While Kalanithi Maran's Sun Direct has gone in for the same technology, existing DTH operators Dish TV and Tata Sky have gone in for MPEG-2 compression.
Bluemagic will be using Nagravision's conditional access solutions and the set-top boxes (STBs) will be from multiple vendors, the source adds. Nagravision, part of the Switzerland-based Kudelski Group, is a leading player in the field of conditional access for digital TV and broadband internet.
Bluemagic is also tying up with US-based OpenTV, the provider of enabling technologies for advanced digital television services. Zee Group's Dish TV has also entered into a multi-year license agreement with OpenTV which enables it to deliver a variety of advanced interactive television services, including PVRs (personal video recorders), to its subscriber base.
Monica Bedi is still a hit
A poll amongst Bollywood filmmakers shows that they would cast former jailbird Monica Bedi if she suited a role in their movies.
American celebrity Paris Hilton’s jail term became a widely read Prison Diary and her release after serving 23 days in jail created a frenzy as to what she would do next. Well, the jailbird turned songbird soon after and has a flourishing future ahead in fashion by just uttering her trademark “That’s hot!”
Closer home, former Bollywood starlet Monica Bedi wasn’t met with any such offers after being acquitted by a Bhopal court in a fake passport case.
Though she did announce that she would love to return to films and start acting all over again, never mind her infamous status as Abu Salem’s moll.
Apparently, Monica kept herself occupied by teaching other women prisoners yoga, dancing and English for the ten months she spent in jail.
We asked Bollywood whether her infamy would do her fledgling Bollywood career any good and would they cast her in their films...
Meghna Gulzar – An actor should be given a role depending on his/her acting prowess and not on the basis of whether they went to prison or came out of it.
Anil Sharma – I cast an actor according to the suitability of the character. Monica will get work regardless of her infamy or fame. We will look at her from the perspective of an artiste and talent. One should get a second chance.
Vikram Bhatt – You shouldn’t cast someone because they have created a media furore of any kind. If Monica or Paris suit a character, casting them is fine. I would cast Monica only if I had something she could do.
Vipul Shah – Casting depends on the merit of the role and that is decided by the script. When people have sympathy for actors like Salman Khan, who genuinely enjoys the love of the audience and they know the good side of him, does the actor gain from all the trouble he gets in. It doesn’t work for everybody though.
Sanjay Gupta – Paris is in America and Monica’s in India. Strictly no comments.
Monica Badi wants to make a comeback in Bollywood
Former starlet and companion of underworld don Abu Salem, Monica Bedi, has said that she would like to take up acting again.
Monica, who had worked in a few films before her involvement with Salem, said: "I want to return to Bollywood. I would like to continue in films. I have not planned anything yet."
Monica was acquitted on Monday by a Bhopal court in connection with a forged passport case, as police failed to produce adequate witnesses against her.
"It was a big surprise. To be very frank, I had no hope. There was a conspiracy against me. I hadn't expected this," she said.
A case was registered against Bedi in Bhopal for securing a passport with the help of forged documents in the name of Fauzia.
Bedi will however remain in custody until she has sorted out her bail bond with another court in Hyderabad, which her lawyers say should take a few days.
That court had earlier sentenced her to serve five years in jail for a similar offence, but granted her bail, pending an appeal.
Bedi and Abu Salem were extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005.
Google to sell print ads in newsPapers and TV
Google is expanding its Print Ads programme to allow online advertisers nationwide to place print advertisements in 225 newspapers, serving half of US newspaper readers.
The programme, which will let hundreds of thousands of Google AdWords customers place newspaper ads in the same way they buy Web page, radio or TV ad space, follows a 50-publication test started last November among a small group of advertisers.
The 225 newspapers are located in 32 of the 35 biggest US metropolitan markets, with a combined circulation of almost 30
million subscribers. Among the newspapers in the programme are The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Seattle Times and San Jose Mercury News.
Google Print Ads lets advertising agencies and advertising customers of all sizes plan and buy traditional newspaper media
-- from one-inch to full-page displays in both national and local newspapers via Google's existing ad sales software.
Smita Hashim, group product manager for Print Ads, said it was designed to bring online advertisers back to papers. "We are not actively marketing to newspaper loyalists," she said, referring to print advertisers to which papers typically sell.
Details are at http://www.google.com/adwords/printads/.
Separately, Google rival Yahoo said it has increased its own ad sales partnership with US newspaper publishers to 17 chains covering 400 newspapers, up from 176 publications when its programme began in November.
Unlike Google Print Ads, however, Yahoo's programme is aimed at helping newspapers sell ads on their online sites, something Google itself already does through its own AdSense programme.
On that score, Google said it had renewed an existing deal to supply Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive with online Web search results, as well as pay-per-click and contextually targeted ads to WashingtonPost.com readers.
With Google Print Ads, an ad buyer in Los Angeles might buy space in Chicago or Seattle newspapers, something only national advertisers now typically do. This allows local papers to reach a national base of online ad buyers.
"Google Print Ads has brought in new advertisers who were either too small to consider advertising in a national newspaper or who hadn't tried print advertising because their business was largely online," said Todd Haskell, the New York Times' vice president of business development for advertising.
Advertisers then place bids for space and upload ad images to the Google AdWords system and the rest is taken care by the newspapers and Google, which handles billing and payments.
As part of its bid to bring accountability to both sides of the print-buying process, Google asks newspapers to provide electronic "tear sheets" -- images that demonstrate exactly where and how a specific ad ran in a publication -- within 24 hours of the publication of the print advertisement.
Google officials said the extension of AdWords to include newspaper ads promises to bring the measurability of online ad sales to offline print media.
"Advertisers are using newspapers in very similar ways to how they use online advertising," Hashim said. Customers are beginning to test ad campaigns across different markets and shifting spending where it is most effective, she said.
Sonu Nigam alleges sexual harassment
Films like Page 3 have long shown page 3 people asking sexual favors from ambitious people who come for work. But this is the first time that news like this has come on news. Ace singer Sonu Nigam has accused famous film journalist Subhash K Jha of unreasonable sexual demands and harassment after he rejected the latter’s unreasonable advances. “He used to harass me with his 
homosexual desires to an extent that my family was affected. We all know that the film industry consists of many gays and homosexuals. Even I have many gay friends but they have never tried to come close to me because they know that I am not interested in it,” news website zeenews.com quoted the Sonu Nigam as saying. He also added, “In 2001, he proposed me and said that he loves me. He even misbehaved with me after getting drunk but later apologized in the morning. I even told him that you are Lataji’s friend and elder to me so please don’t talk such things with me as I’m not gay. But he still continued harassing me with his calls.” Jha has been writing harsh criticism on the singer for quite some time now and Sonu calls it deliberate attempt to defame him. Sure the industry is known to have such hidden secrets but not all time do they become public. At the outer sphere the industry portrays a happy and flourishing world
Nach Baliye, for the third time
Finalising couples for Nach Baliye 3 is getting harder. Some are demanding fatter pay packets while others are uncomfortable presenting themselves as a 'couple'.
Thinking heads at Star One are busy finalising the lineup of celebrity couples for Nach Baliye's third season that goes on air this September. If sources are to be believed, this year has been the toughest in terms of getting telly couples to do the show. While most of the popular faces are busy with their respective soaps, a few 'out-ofwork ' couples have been demanding a bigger pay packet!
A reliable source from the channel informs, "They have been asking for unheard of money for the show. It's simply beyond our budget. We have had approached at least 20 couples."
Few couples, who have been secretly dating, were also not keen on coming out in public. Our sources say that a few had even taken offence when approached for the show. A source from the channel adds, "That's the biggest problem we faced this year. A few have kept their relationship under the wraps. They were extremely uncomfortable when we approached them for the show."
Trade pundits reveal that the hoopla surrounding the show (in the third season) has also died down. An actor on condition of anonymity says, "We need some new elements in the show otherwise it gets a little boring. We are expected to bring in a lot of melodrama just for the sake of it."
The list so far reads, Rakhi Sawant and Abhishek Awasthi, Indraneil Sengupta and Barkha Bisht, Sandeep Baswana and Aslesha Sawant, Aamir Ali and Sanjeeda Shaikh, Kishwar Merchant and Hiten Paintal, Kiran Karmarkar and wife Rinku, Pooja Ghai and Vikas Kalantri, Kavita Kaushik and Karan Grover, Karan Patel and Amita Chandekar. The channel is yet to decide on another couple this week. Apparently, Rajshri Thakur and husband Sanjot Vaidya, Swetta Keswani and beau Alex O'Neil are in the run.
Says our source, "These eight celebrity couples have been finalised. This week we start signing the contract papers."
The channel, however, maintains a stoic silence over the show. Anil Jha from Star One says, "I have no information on Nach Baliye 3. We might not have a third season."
NO WAY!
Here's a list of couples who have turned down the show: Iqbal Khan and wife Sneha Renuka Shahane and Ashutosh Rana Roshni Chopra and husband Siddharth Anand Smriti Irani and husband Zubin Irani Rajeev Khandelwal and Aamna Shariff Anita Hassanandani and Eijaz Khan
