A new ad campaign in Britain from Ask.com concedes top spot in the search poll to rival Google, Inc. -- a rather risky advertising strategy. The idea behind the ad campaign is that it's unhealthy for consumers to rely on one source for getting information from the Internet. Google is used for 75% of Internet searches in the U.K. But the plan could backfire, as the campaign, presented in a consumer-watch kind of way, tries to hide the fact that it's advertising for Ask.com. Some consumers have already reacted angrily to the tactic, complaining that they were duped. …

Just a day after Apple and EMI Group PLC announced an agreement to cancel DRM copy protection on EMI-owned music files, the European Union took the first steps toward an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and its recording company partners. The E.U. investigation alleges that the complex web of intellectual-property agreements in the recording industry is anti-competitive. For example, digital downloads in the U.K. and Denmark are much more expensive than elsewhere in Europe because rights restrictions are different in each country; the E.U. thinks digital music should cost the same around the globe. Jupiter Research analyst Mark Mulligan …

The virtual world Second Life presents problems for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and anyone else with a vested interest in upholding the law. Currently, the FBI is investigating casinos in Second Life--at the invitation of Linden Lab, the game's creator--but the organization has made no ruling as to the legality of so-called "virtual gambling." For one thing, gamblers earn Lindens, not U.S. dollars. For another, the exchange of money in these casinos is relatively insignificant, given that the cost of goods in the virtual world is still incredibly cheap (Reuters says casino owners make around $1,500 per …

Google, Inc. has opened up mapping tools to its customers, giving away tools that let users customize Google Maps. This means pinpointing certain locations like restaurants or hotels, drawing routes, attaching photos and video to existing online maps. Google Maps has long been open to professional programmers to tinker as they please, but the new tools, called MyMaps, make the process much simpler for the layman. "Who better to create maps than local experts?" Jessica Lee, product manager for Google Maps. "MyMaps makes map-making universally accessible to anyone." Users can also publish their custom maps so others can …

DoubleClick may have just become more expensive. The ad-serving giant is announcing today that it's setting up a Nasdaq-like exchange for buying and selling Web ads. The new service calls for advertisers to bid against one another for inventory on participating DoubleClick partner sites. And it could make the company a more attractive acquisition target. Hellman & Friedman, the private equity firm that owns the technology provider, hired Morgan Stanley to explore a possible sale. DoubleClick is one of the Web's biggest ad-servers. The ad exchange would bring publishers and advertisers together into a network where advertisers can participate …

News Corp. is becoming more and more like Google in the big media world, in that the conglomerate is eating its competitors' lunch. With a huge thanks to "American Idol," News Corp. dominates TV. But it's also pulled ahead in the digital sphere, thanks to the purchase of MySpace owner Intermix Media in 2005, and now, the new online video venture with NBC Universal. Analysts say the company owes its success (have a look at its stock price) to the vision of its founder and chairman Rupert Murdoch. "Strategically, Murdoch has been ahead of everybody," says Natexis Bleichroeder …

Now that Google has officially moved into the TV ad delivery business, one overarching question lingers: Can big G revolutionize the way TV ads are bought and sold? Being the biggest force in online advertising doesn't necessarily translate into offline success--which the company proved with lukewarm results in its radio and print operations. Indeed, the search giant's empire has been built on the backs of solid search technology and the most targeted, accountable advertising system ever known to marketers. But offline, Google lacks the same targeting capabilities. Sure, the company will be able to target ads to specific audiences, …

The cable/wireless four-play is in jeopardy, now that the Federal Communications Commission has passed new privacy rules preventing cable companies from sharing data with voice-over-Internet-providers. The new rules, which are aimed at protecting consumers, would hinder the plans of Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications to partner with Sprint Nextel to offer a four-play media package that would include cable TV, high-speed Internet, as well as VoIP phone and mobile wireless service. The article says this would be an unintended consequence of the new FCC regulations, although it wouldn't necessarily K.O. the partnerships. It would likely require …

Interactive marketing veteran Jean-Philippe Maheu, onetime chief executive of Razorfish, has been named chief digital officer of WPP Group's Ogilvy North America. Maheu's job will work with both clients and senior Ogilvy managers to develop digital ad efforts. The move to create a chief digital officer underscores the move by traditional agencies to make Web-based and mobile advertising a more significant component to their operations, which tend to focus on TV, print, radio and outdoor. Big agencies' slow embrace of the online ad market has presented Avenue A/Razorfish, AKQA and Digitas with the opportunity to rise to the top …

TV, of course, is the big news of the day coming out of Google HQ in Mountain View, Calif., but Ad Age takes a closer look at the Web giant's efforts to bolster its display and video networks. Web traffic measurer comScore, which filed to go public on Monday, says Google's total network has grown 24 percent over the past year--now reaching 62 percent of the country. Meanwhile, AdSense, its publisher program, is featuring more and more display and video spots instead of the traditional text ads. "Google is definitely sneaking up on people in terms of being …