Several U.S. weather and news Web sites were deluged by heavy traffic as hordes of people went online seeking emergency information and news on Hurricane Katrina, which battered the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Will Playboy readers persuade their spouses they're buying the online version for those exclusive interviews? Highly doubtful. After all, in the Internet era, interviews, like most news and information, are rarely rare; they're almost always accessible. They're as plentiful and on-demand on the Web as, ahem, revealing pictures. Therefore it's highly likely that Playboy will have to enhance or exploit one of its two features as it moves online.

John A. Greco Jr., president/CEO of the Direct Marketing Association, is saddened by the devastation left this week by Hurricane Katrina. But he also has advice for direct and interactive marketers nationwide looking for ways to reconfigure marketing and business efforts in the Gulf Coast states.

Yahoo! is seeking to challenge Google as the go-to place for online advertisers, as the Internet heavyweights increasingly go head-to-head in big marketing pitches.

Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it had acquired Teleo Inc., a small San Francisco startup whose software lets people make calls from computers to traditional telephones. The deal for privately held Teleo, which closed Monday, could allow Redmond-based Microsoft to gain a competitive edge in the growing market for Internet-based calling services. Terms were not disclosed.

Facing fragmented audiences and a plethora of media choices, marketing chiefs at the broadcast networks need to find ever more inventive ways to entice viewers, and this season they're turning to key words.

After a controversial run-in with bloggers last year that helped sink "60 Minutes Wednesday," CBS has hired a "nonbudsman" to write a blog that will go behind the scenes at the news division. Former "Hotline" editor Vaughn Ververs will report his findings on "Public Eye," which debuts next month on http://www.cbsnews.com.

Apple Computer and Motorola plan to unveil a long-awaited mobile phone and music player next week that will incorporate Apple's iTunes software, a telecommunications industry analyst who has been briefed on the announcement said on Monday.

A new Web site aims to help determine whether a specific computer has been sending legitimate e-mail or spam.

If you were Google's chief executive, wouldn't you Google yourself? At least once? Would you be surprised to discover that your recent stock sales, net worth, hobbies and contributions to various political candidates are online and easily found with a click or two?