Nielsen//NetRatings reported market share data for the three biggest Internet search engines today. According to the company's MegaView Search Service, Google has 47 percent of all online searches, Yahoo! has 21 percent, and MSN is responsible for 13 percent of searches.

In the latest analysis, our friends at eMarketer project that there will be nearly 70 million broadband households in the United States in 2008. In fact, eMarketer estimates that broadband households will grow at a compound annual rate of 19.4 percent between 2004 and 2008. Broadband penetration of all households is expected to grow from 23.1 percent in 2003 to 56.3 percent in 2008. In its report, "North America Broadband," the aggregator of online data projects that there will be 76.9 million broadband households throughout North America in 2008.

America Online today introduced a local search service that's integrated with its AOL Search product, which is available both to AOL subscribers and consumers, Web-wide, who use the company's online properties. From all appearances, AOL Local Search is like a one-stop shop.

Now here's something new, at least to the Minute. There is a Committee to Protect Bloggers. Yes, there is.

It seems so predictable. At the beginning of a new year, people turn their attention to tax preparation, going on a diet, getting a new job, and finding time to travel. comScore Media Metrix reports that Web sites addressing these topics were among the top properties logging traffic increases.

Petula Clark breathlessly crooned it in the hit song from the 1960s. But the times we're talking about have nothing to do with the state of our love, but rather, The New York Times Co.'s announcement yesterday that it will acquire About.com for just under half a billion dollars - $410 million to be exact. As we mull the implications of the Times' acquisition and consider the opportunities, we see the move as only the latest in a surge of market enthusiasm for the online sector. Consider America Online's pickup of Advertising.com for $435 million in cash, and aQuantive's $160 …

Napster's new online music subscription service is under fire. Complaints that Napster To Go's copy-protection standards leave the music rental service vulnerable to unauthorized copying have been circulating the Web. Now, Napster is on the defensive. The company issued a statement on the Web this week saying the digital music tracks on its Napster To Go service are no more susceptible to illegal copying than any other online music service.

In yet another post-Super Bowl ad tally, ads from Budweiser and Pepsi ranked the highest in unaided recall, according to FeedbackResearch, a unit of adware firm Claria Corp.

The Super Bowl ad tallies are still coming in. Today AOL reports that Pepsi's spot featuring supermodel Cindy Crawford racked up the most views on AOL.com and AOL service. The spot was viewed 18.6 million times, more than double the 9.2 million views from the 2004 Super Bowl ad crop. AOL made the 2005 Super Bowl spots available through Saturday February 12 on the Web at AOL.com and via the AOL service. AOL also reports that viewers accessed spots from its Classic Commercials package, which features commercials from previous Super Bowls, and watched them 3.8 million times.

Now here's something to ponder. A jazz composer won a Grammy award last night for an album that didn't sell at retail. Come again? Maria Schneider's album, "Concert in the Garden," was distributed online through ArtistShare, a company that finances album production via the support of music fans. The Web-based music delivery service produced 10,000 copies of Schneider's CD - 9,000 available for pre-order to ArtistShare participants and 1,000 copies that will be auctioned through ArtistShare.