In a research note published this morning, financial analyst Piper Jaffray Co. forecasts that Google stock will continue its meteoric rise, based on the company's fast-tracked diversification. "We predict that by the end of 2006, Google will be seen as a full-fledged multi-application company," writes Piper Jaffray Senior Research Analysts Safa Rashtchy and Aaron Kessler.

A new survey finds that young adults are intrigued by the potential for commercial-free radio via wireless phones and downloadable music to mobile phones.

Some people are addicted to love, but most of us are addicted to e-mail. According to a new survey conducted by America Online, the average e-mail user checks e-mail nearly five times a day. Yes, that's right. AOL's E-mail Addiction survey examines our e-mail behavior and frankly, it's a little obsessive. The survey found that e-mail users rely on e-mail as much as the phone for communication, spend nearly an hour a day on e-mail, and that 77 percent of e-mail users have more than one mail account.

MSN says it has overhauled MSN Money with a few hefty sponsors helming the relaunch -- Citigroup, Scottrade, and Lending Tree. MSN Money has added new sections, including a News Center that includes financial news from the likes of Forbes, BusinessWeek,Financial Times, and Expert pages. MSN says it has improved navigation so that consumers can more easily find the latest market news, investing tools, and other resources.

Academic publishers are protesting Google's plans to scan library books into its Internet search engine index. In a letter to Google opposing the plan, the Association of American University Presses argued that the plan "appears to involve systematic infringement of copyright on a massive scale."

Sales via the Web continue to increase, according to a preliminary report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which indicates that first quarter online retail sales increased 23.8 percent to $19.8 billion from $16 billion a year ago. During the first quarter, e-commerce sales also rose 6.4 percent from the fourth quarter. The department's report shows that e-commerce represents 2.2 percent of total retail sales in the first quarter.

Google today said it will introduce a personalized home page that integrates e-mail (Gmail), news, weather, movie listings, and other features. The move is yet another signal of Google's ascent into portal territory. MSN, Yahoo!, and AOL offer users the ability to customize their home pages. It's also a sign that Google is looking for revenues beyond those from search-related advertising.

All things considered, we'd rather not revisit a topic we addressed yesterday but sometimes that's not possible. This is one of those days. Tuesday night we attended a fabulous Coldplay concert courtesy of AOL and AOL Music. (The concert will be available on AOL for free starting June 7). It was a good time, great music, and we enjoyed ourselves - thoroughly. Listening to the band's music this morning on an iPod Mini just wasn't the same as experiencing a live performance, that's for sure.

The Beacon Theater in New York City rocked last night courtesy of Coldplay and AOL. The band staged a live concert in advance of the release of its new CD "X&Y" on June 7. AOL will offer the exclusive 75-minute concert for free on AOLMusic.com starting June 7.

So finally, after at least a year of internal discussion that prompted months of speculation among media observers, The New York Times has made a decision to charge a subscription fee for access to its online archive, columnists, and selected content including multimedia reports.