Microsoft is expected to take the wraps off the U.S. version of its MSN Newsbot today, marking the first time the company has used its own technology for a search site in its home country. The personalized news search, which launches as a beta test, will carry the MSNBC co-brand.

Question: When I try to print from a Web page, the ads also print, even in printer-friendly versions made available by some sites. This is most annoying and a great waste of time and paper. Is there a way to prevent this?

A fast-spreading computer worm that uses Web search sites to find victims made a broad assault on computers worldwide on Monday, causing problems for Google on the day it offered new details about its initial public offering, security experts said. The spread of the worm, a variant of an Internet attack called MyDoom, was blamed for sporadic outages and slowdowns on Google -- the most popular search engine -- as well as the search sites of Yahoo and AltaVista.

The latest version of a computer worm known as MyDoom disrupted the Google search site yesterday, the same day that the giant search engine announced a range for its share price in the much-anticipated public auction of its stock.

Microsoft on Tuesday began testing a new online news aggregation service, as part of its growing search rivalry with Google.

At first glance it seemed peculiar to local political observers that Democrat Tom Gallagher of Las Vegas would bother plastering banner ads touting his bid for a local congressional seat all over huge international websites such as Yahoo and CNN.com.

The idea is straightforward: Instead of giving employees computers packed with features they rarely use, companies could save tons of cash by distributing simple machines tied to powerful central servers.

RealNetworks Inc. says it has created technology that allows songs purchased through its online music services to be played on Apple Computer Inc.'s popular iPod player, just a few months after complaining that Apple was rebuffing attempts to form an alliance.

Tiny Tuvalu says a California company marketing the Pacific atoll's Internet domain name should pay the nation more.

Jeralyn Merritt had expected the news to come by e-mail rather than by snail mail, otherwise known as the United States Postal Service. But she had to rip, rather than click, to open the message informing her that she had received press credentials to cover the Democratic National Convention in Boston for her Internet Web log, or blog, at TalkLeft.com, where she offers a running commentary on political and criminal justice issues.