Three billion people will have access to the Internet by 2018, according to projections from eMarketer. The firm found that the Internet's user base will rise by 6.2 percent to 42.4 percent of the entire world's population by 2015. By 2018, this will rise to 42.4 percent with around 3.6 billion people able to access the Internet at least once a month. By 2016, India is expected to overtake the U.S. as the second-largest Web user. Finally, in first place, China will have 750,000 people online by 2018.

McDonald's is looking to the technology start-up space to help source social media and mobile marketing ideas on how to digitise its restaurant experience across Europe. The company's European division is holding its first hackathon in London this weekend, tasking participants to "build the restaurant experience for the next generation." Attendees are encouraged to build apps that push mobile into the customer journey in-stores using iBeacons and NFC technology or focus on gamification once they have left.

Coca-Cola has launched the first TV ad campaign last week for its lower-calorie alternative Coke Life as data shows that the drink continues to outpace the more established brands in its portfolio. Although the drink had slow sales during the soft launch in July, due to limited distribution, an outdoor, print and digital campaign in September saw sales take off. Now, the latest sales data from IRI shows that the product has quickly become larger than sister brand Diet Coke Caffeine Free.

According to the latest research from Forrester, only 36 percent of consumers ages 65 and older in the UK have a smartphone, compared to 89 percent of consumers ages 18-24. Doro is attempting to reach this gap in the market with a two-month TV campaign featuring the Doro Liberto 820, a device the brand calls "the understanding smartphone." The Liberto 820 features a built-in coach to help with navigation, HD voice for hearing assistance, hearing aid compatibility, large icons, shortcuts for important features and contacts.

MediaCom picked up the Grand Prix at the Campaign Media Awards on Wednesday night after winning in three categories. PHD and Drum were awarded Campaign of the Year for "The Lego Movie ad break" for which brands such as BT and Confused.com recreated their own TV spots in Lego form. MediaCom won in Public Sector and Charity for the Home Office; Grocery, Soft Drinks and Household for Lucozade; and Transport for Volkswagen.

PayPal, the online payment company, is looking for an agency to handle its electronic customer relationship marketing activity in the UK. The pitch is being overseen by Creativebrief. PayPal had sent the brief to agencies but not yet compiled a shortlist for chemistry meetings. The appointed agency will be PayPal's first dedicated CRM or digital shop in the UK. It has previously used a variety of agencies on a project basis. Havas Worldwide is PayPal's global creative agency. It created the "people rule" campaign.

Taxi-hailing app Uber has hired a law firm to look into its privacy policy after the app came under fire for a series of alleged snooping misdemeanours. Uber has brought on board Harriet Pearson, a data privacy expert, from law firm Hogan Lovells to address concerns that the firm is exploiting gaps in its privacy policy to spy on customers. This comes after Uber executive Emil Michael apologised for suggesting he could spend "a million dollars" to hire investigators to combat critics of the company by digging up dirt on them.

Speaking at the Alcohol Concern Conference Wednesday morning, Labour MP and Shadow Public Health Minister Luciana Berger said the party wants to start a debate on the irresponsible promotion of alcohol. Berger believes sponsorships between brands such as Stella Artois and Wimbledon or Carlsberg and the Rugby Sevens create a link between alcohol and physical activity.

Apple will allow advertisers to purchase mobile app inventory through programmatic buying as it seeks out new ways to make its advertising ecosystem more accessible. The technology giant will sell iAd campaigns worldwide, using the relatively new form of trading in the hope of lifting the value of its mobile ads against those from Google and Facebook.

Samsung has released "Milk Video" -- a social video-sharing app optimised for HD to suit the company's high-resolution Galaxy smartphones. The Korean firm launched the YouTube competitor on Wednesday in the U.S. The ad-free service is designed to take users through the hottest viral videos, with brands Conde Nast, Funny Or Die, Red Bull, Vevo, BuzzFeed and Vice on board for its launch.