• CNET News.com , Tuesday, December 19, 2006 11 AM

Digg, the news aggregate site, may have unveiled a new look on Monday, but it has failed to address the No. 1 problem plaguing its business: phony "diggs."

The news aggregator depends on the wisdom of crowds; its users "digg" the best stories they find, but power diggers stick together. In some cases, diggs come from PR or marketing firms looking to cast their clients in a better light. Another tactic they use is to digg phony stories or press releases.

The company has done its best to do away with phony digging, which is illegal on the site. Recently, one of the site's users posted a story about how he receives two or three offers a week from someone hawking a product or service. The 19-year-old, one of the site's most avid users, was promptly kicked off the site for communicating with an Internet phone company called JetNumbers, but was later reinstated after apologizing. The user was bribed, but never received any money, according to CNET.

As part of its new look, Digg added a Top 10 feature, a new interface, and a flexible layout that stretches, depending on the width of the user's monitor. It also added a section that allows podcast and video diggs.

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