Sales at beleaguered magazine publisher Primedia fell last quarter, and the company slashed its outlook for the fourth quarter. Internet directory About.com may now be put on the block. Primedia bought About.com in 2000 for about $500 million in stock, but the unit is only now beginning to show its value.

Louis Vuitton SA is suing Google and its French subsidiary for trademark infringement in the wake of a landmark ruling that could force the popular Internet search engine to change the way it sells advertising.

All those e-mails -- junk or otherwise -- are adding up. In 2002, people around the globe created enough new information to fill 500,000 U.S. Libraries of Congress, according to a study by faculty and students at the University of California at Berkeley.

McDonald's Corp. said on Tuesday it would team up with computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. to offer its clients across Brazil the ability to surf the Web while eating their Big Macs and fries.

Microsoft Corp. said on Monday that it would launch software for a new portable media device to be launched next year that will allow users to listen to music and watch movies on the road.

Internet search engine Google Inc. will buy Primedia Inc.'s Sprinks online ad service for an undisclosed amount, acquiring one of its biggest competitors for content-based online advertising.

The notorious Internet pop-up ads of scantily clad women being viewed from miniature wireless cameras might be gone forever.

America Online, eager to energize its flagging brand, will more than double its U.S. advertising spending to $275 million next year, up from $115 million in spending this year, Wednesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

By employing the strategies outlined here, you can boost your opt-ins, increase your sales and inform your customers-without annoying the heck out of them.

The premise sounds simple: To cut down on junk e-mail, simply submit your addresses to a "do-not-spam" list that marketers would have to check to avoid fines. With more than 50 million phone numbers already on a federal do-not-call list, many e-mail users are eager for a no-spam counterpart. But don't expect much, even if one is created. Phone and e-mail systems - and the marketers who employ them - are fundamentally different.