Orion Media is using a dancing hamster to launch its new Midlands station Free Radio. Free was officially launched last month following the amalgamation of four Orion radio stations - brmb, Beacon, Mercia and Wyvern - under one new unified brand. Along with the TV advert created by Midlands agency Connect, the GBP1m launch campaign also includes outdoor advertising, social media and events that will aim to draw new audiences from across the West Midlands region. Connect worked with Hanrahan Film Productions and CGI company Framestore to bring its script to life.

Flattr, the Swedish microdonations service that makes donations between web users and content creators like artists, musicians and writers possible, has just struck its first major deal with a global content provider. France's Dailymotion, the web's biggest video portal after YouTube, is allowing its users to import a Flattr button onto their channels and each individual video. The deal means that anyone who uploads a video to the site can start getting donations, or tips, directly from their viewers, no advertisers needed.

A Facebook page which mocked the Hillsborough football tragedy is being investigated by police. The page allegedly pointed fun at the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans who were crushed to death at an FA Cup semi-final in April 1989. According to reports, it went online for a week and received 125 "likes" before being removed by Facebook following complaints forwarded by police. A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said detectives from the force's hi-tech crime unit were investigating. Facebook said the page has been removed.

Once downloaded to your iPhone, the iOS app invites you to input the start and end points of a journey, and will then recommend a variety of travel options, including walking, cycling, and public transport. After you arrive at your destination (the app tracks your progress with GPS), you'll be given five Recyclebank points, and shown how many calories you've burned, and how much carbon dioxide you've "saved" by opting for a cleaner mode of transport.

American social games maker Zynga is accusing Kobojo of trademark infringement regarding 'Pyramidville' - a game which was released onto Facebook last year. Zynga said in its complaint: "Facebook users are likely to believe, erroneously, that PYRAMIDVILLE is a member of Zynga's 'VILLE Family of Games'." Zynga has been trying to trademark the word 'ville' with the US Patent and Trademark and Trademark Office. However, according to reports, the process has been slow and without much progress.

The UK's average download speed is the 16th slowest in Europe, says IT company Akamai, and faces being shut out of the next industrial revolution. Peter Cochrane, a former BT chief technology officer, has warned, "In terms of broadband, the UK is at the back of the pack. We're beaten by almost every other European country and Asia leaves us for dust." While other nations are racing to replace the old copper telephone networks with fibre optic cables running right to household doorsteps, and capable of almost unlimited speeds, the UK has settled for a compromise.

The scheme, launched last week, is inviting emerging writers, photographers, podcasters and film-makers to submit articles or content on any topic within its new Scottish Voices section. The best read article will see its author receive a cash prize of GBP50 each month, while also receiving feedback on how to develop their skills.

The social media pinboard is reportedly on the lookout for German, Portuguese, Spanish and Japanese translators as the site looks to go global. Although the selection of languages available still seems a little small, plans are being put in place to add many more, like Chinese, Dutch, and Russian. t still may be a while until Pinterest manages to rival the giants of social media. In comparison, according to webpronews.com, a recent update by Twitter brought the company's language tally up to 28, with Arabic and Hebrew now available on the site.

The study by Affilinet asked attendees at the Internet World show about the future of traditional channels. One in six respondents stated that offline still had a lot to give and that they would continue to invest heavily in it. However, when asked if in the future they would invest more in mobile rather than online and offline, respondents were split down the middle. Two-thirds of those surveyed admitted to not yet having a mobile-optimised site in place and 62% won't do so in the next six months.

Givey, launched almost a year ago alongside the Government's Giving White Paper, allows people to give to charities using SMS and Twitter. Hundreds of charities have signed up to the scheme which provides them with a 'Givey Tag' that doubles up as a Twitter and SMS hashtag. Other charities significantly older than Givey are also using social media to appeal to their audience and new donors. Animal welfare charity the RSPCA was formed in 1824 and is funded entirely by donations.