Google stopped using the Gmail name in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. The Gmail service there is now known as Googlemail. A Google representative said that the search giant decided to change the suffix after protracted wranglings with research firm Independent International Investment Research (IIIR), which uses the name G-mail to refer to a part of its financial analytics software.

Barry Diller has a way of irritating the Web crowd like the reek of unwashed socks. Part of it is his ever-present Denis Leary-like sneer. And part of it is that Diller has remade himself into an Internet tycoon who now owns what seems like half the Web, including Match.com, Ticketmaster and Ask Jeeves.

Yahoo has acquired a small UK company called Whereonearth to help improve its local search and mobile phone services and compete more effectively with search leader Google.

While blogs have long been frowned upon by traditional media as amateurish, analysts say the public is increasingly looking to blogs for a fresh view on news.

The scrimmage among major media players for an equity interest in America Online and other emerging cyberspace turf wars might be perplexing at first glance, but they are simply a case of Internet-driven and traditional media companies chasing the money.

While the McDonald's Corporation has not jumped headfirst into blogging, it certainly is further along the path of acceptance than many companies of its size. Last week, the company began an internal program that introduced corporate blogs, available only on the corporate intranet, behind the firewall.

Nintendo of America is expected to announce today that it will offer free wireless Internet access for its Nintendo DS portable game system at McDonald's restaurants. Customers will be able to play select DS games with other players around the world.

Apple Computer Inc. chief Steve Jobs faces a far tougher task wooing film and television producers to create shows for the new video iPod than he did in the music industry because many questions remain over content and pricing, industry executives say.

Bram Cohen's BitTorrent software made it a cinch to pirate films on the Internet. So why is Hollywood on his side?

On the heels of its acquisition of Weblogs Inc., AOL has done a deal with Intelliseek's BlogPulse to receive daily blog data and trend analysis. The word-of-mouth measurement firm will provide AOL with blog data, statistics, trend charts and blog entries.