Edging closer to a direct confrontation with Microsoft, Google, the Web search engine, is preparing to introduce a powerful file and text software search tool for locating information stored on personal computers.

The Holy Grail of online advertising is the ability for an advertiser to achieve one-to-one marketing. But it's unclear just how to achieve this goal, or whether it's even ultimately possible. After all, given society's whimsical nature in an increasingly pluralistic culture makes it a challenge for anyone to know what they want for longer than a nanosecond.

L.L. Bean said yesterday that it filed four separate lawsuits against Claria advertisers, charging their pop-up ads served when users visit www.llbean.com constitute trademark infringement.

Google's success in Web advertising is fast becoming bittersweet for other companies that rely on ads to pay the bills.

The smartest publisher in the blogosphere says there's no money online. So why doesn't anyone believe him?

Sports score Web operator Sportsnetwork.com sued Walt Disney Co's ESPN on Monday, claiming its bigger competitor was stealing minor league baseball scores for its own site and refused to stop. Sportsnetwork quoted ESPN General

Yahoo may be flush with some additional dot-com cash. The online media company said its stake in rival Google is worth "several hundred million dollars" and that it would seek to liquidate that investment in due time. Yahoo didn't give a date, but just the intention to sell its shares may be an overhang for Google's upcoming IPO.

A new Web browser from Opera Software ASA this week is the first major browser to incorporate an emerging technology that automatically delivers new blog entries and news articles.

Google is angling for new AdWords advertisers with the promise of a helping hand for those who open new accounts and make a $299 pre-payment.

A just-completed study of an integrated advertising campaign last fall from American Airlines has determined that online ads delivered through a database-driven behavioral targeting system achieved higher results than any other ad format used.