College kids looking for free music may have popularized Internet file-trading software, but the technology is now used by everyone from penny-pinching phone callers to polar explorers.

As millions of broadband subscribers who missed a wardrobe-malfunction moment on TV can attest, the internet can be a convenient resource for finding much-talked-about events on video.Whether it's Janet Jackson's Super Bowl breast exposure or The Daily Show host Jon Stewart's explosive appearance on a political talk show, video clips of high-profile moments have sent millions of net users scrambling to search engines for footage.

Survivor benefit: DoubleClick, one of the few Internet firms that lived to tell the tale after the dot-com bubble burst, is to be acquired for more than $1 billion by San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman. DoubleClick coordinates advertisers with other Web sites to help promote their product or service, and is among the most-visited sites on the Internet.

Researchers at the University of London Institute of Psychiatry have found that the constant distractions of email and texting are more harmful to performance than cannabis.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau and MediaPost reached a settlement regarding the use of the OMMA trademark, according to a joint statement issued Friday.

As females assume the dominant position as Internet shoppers, marketers are being forced to retool their online retail strategies to make them more accommodating to women, according to a new eMarketer study.

On Wednesday, an Oakland County probate court in Michigan ordered Yahoo to give the contents of the e-mail account to the father of Justin Ellsworth, 20, who was killed in November by a roadside bomb in Fallujah

Last year's two highest-paid chief executives are both former movie tycoons-turned-interactive titans: Terry Semel of Yahoo! and Barry Diller of IAC/InterActiveCorp.

Following several high-profile incidents of data theft, retailers are under increased pressure to clean up their computer security act. Leading the effort are MasterCard International and Visa USA, which are giving major retailers until June 30 to comply with a new set of computer security standards aimed at protecting consumer data. Retailers that don't comply with the Payment Card Industry, or PCI, data security standard may face penalties, including fines.

The IAB and MediaPost have reached a settlement agreement regarding the use of the OMMA trademark. The settlement allows for MediaPost to continue using the mark in connection with an OMMA conference and magazine but not an awards show in 2005. This year the IAB will produce their own MIXX Conference, Expo and Awards in conjunction with Adweek Magazines.