As the slow rollout of the National Broadband Network continues, an OECD study has found Australia has one of the lowest rates of fibre internet connection in the developed world. Despite the low availability of fibre internet, the study shows Australians are among the highest users of social media online but rated comparatively low in online commerce. A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found Australia ranked 25th for use of fibre to the home or building as the preferred method of broadband.

As many as eight in ten UK Internet users have a profile on at least one social media website, according to a new poll by InSites Consulting, quoted by The Drum. Facebook is the most popular social network, with more than two in three internt users active on the platform. Twitter comes next with 28% of all users, followed by 26% on LinkedIn. Continuing smartphone adoption is one of the factors that determine increased use of social media.

Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar, claimed the popularity of the low-end Nokia 610 handset is driving sales in key markets such as Italy and France. According to Kantar, the Windows Phone platform saw growth rates of 6.6% in Italy, 3.5% in France and 2.3% in the UK. The research firm said that in Italy, Windows Phone now holds a double-digit market share, 10.4%, a first in the European market."

According to the UK state broadcaster, the new service will be offered as a Web application for mobile and desktop customers, along with an iOS app followed by Android service. BBC Programmes and On-Demand general manager Daniel Danker said BBC iPlayer Radio is radio for an audience that expects to access the broadcaster's content anywhere. "It's also radio for an audience that wants greater choice and control," Danker said.

The new channels will be launched by a variety of European production companies and are in addition to the 100 channels launched in the U.S. last year. Like the pre-existing American channels, the European channels will be a mix of celebrity-oriented, niche, and established programmes. It is part of YouTube's strategy, which began a year ago, to try to attract television viewers and advertisers by helping to produce high-quality videos that cater to niche interests.

Citizen journalism site Blottr today announced the planned launch of a content syndication network, which will enable subscriber news outlets to access Blottr content an hour before it goes out to others. The network, called NewsPoint, "provides global news content to publishers and news organisations around the world, captured and reported in real-time by those witnessing the event at the scene", according to a release.

Former Exeter Express & Echo editor Marc Astley, who left the paper three months after it switched from a daily to weekly last year, has set up a new website in the city called The Exeter Daily. Astley is planning to roll out the network to other towns and cities across the UK, with several locations already earmarked by the team behind The Exeter Daily. Astley's ambition is to make the website the "number one news and information provider" in the area, providing a mix of UK, local, sports and business news, with a particular emphasis on charities, students, families, …

A police detective unmasked by "The Times" as the author of an anonymous blog after a reporter hacked into his e-mails has been awarded GBP42,500 damages by the publisher of the newspaper. Richard Horton, a detective constable with the Lancashire Constabulary, who was the author of the awardwinning NightJack blog about the realities of policing, had sued "The Times" for "damages for breach of confidence, misuse of private information and deceit."

Mondelez International, the snacks business spun out of Kraft Foods which owns Cadbury, has created a new chocolate bar combining Cadbury Dairy Milk and US brand Oreo. The bar, called Cadbury Dairy Milk with Oreo, will be available from this week. It will be a milk chocolate bar containing a creamy filling with Oreo cookie pieces. Mondelez believes that combining the two bars is a natural fit, which will help raise the reputation of each bar individually.

Mulberry has launched its Brilliant Britain website as a "love letter" to Britain following an inspirational year of Britishness. Following from the British government's GREAT campaign which promoted Britain on an international scale, Mulberry aimed to celebrate quintessentially British landscapes, architecture, crafts food, people, traditions and innovations with a 'live' guide.