Google Inc. is being sued over accusations that it overcharged advertisers who use the Web search giant's paid search advertising program, which accounts for the vast majority of Google's revenue.

Microsoft Corp. has settled a lawsuit against Scott Richter, whom it identified as a former "spam king." Microsoft said that as part of the settlement Richter and his company agreed to pay $7 million to Microsoft.

New pilot programs from Google aim to give advertisers more control over the types of ads that appear, Gokul Rajaram, a group product manager for AdSense, told DM News during the opening day of Search Engine Strategies 2005 here yesterday. AdSense is testing a program with a few publishers, letting them send more "signals" about their Web site, to better tailor ads.

At the start of last year, Bill Gates told the world's elite at an annual conference in Davos, Switzerland, that the problem of spam would be solved in two years. But if the Microsoft chairman was betting on Sender ID to play a major role in achieving that goal, it looks like a losing bet.

Car companies just can't get enough of short films. Four years after BMW launched The Hire, rival automakers are still trying to replicate the buzz generated by the film series and tap into the appeal of entertainment as a way to show off their latest set of wheels rolling into showrooms.

America Online has purchased a privately held wireless technology company as part of its initiative to more quickly get AOL service onto phones and other wireless devices, the company plans to announce Monday. It purchased Wildseed Ltd., a privately held company founded by Microsoft Corp. veteran G. Eric Engstrom, who co-invented Microsoft's DirectX multimedia and games technology.

Amazon.com's A9.com search engine hopes to set itself apart from the competition one block at a time. But getting ground-level photos of every small business in America is a complex task.

IAC is trying to bolster its lagging stock price by separating its large travel business from its other units, which include the HSN shopping network, Ticketmaster and the Ask Jeeves search engine. The newly independent Expedia, which will include the Expedia Web site, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com and TripAdvisor.com, is at a crossroads. Over the last few years, it has gained market share in the online travel industry, which is still taking business from traditional travel agents. But as the economy improves and travel picks up, airlines and hotels are constantly pressing to cut the fees they pay to Expedia. And in …

Howard Stern and an industrial printing firm launched a lawsuit against Google last week, alleging that the search engine giant fails to live up to its promises regarding the daily budget limits that AdWords users can place over their accounts.

GameSpot, one of the most popular Web sites for video game enthusiasts, has started a new subscription online service where hard-core gamers can battle each other in the most popular online computer games.