Yahoo! is preparing to introduce an ad network for small online publishers that's designed to take on Google's AdSense product, according to a report appearing today on CNET News.com. The plan to deliver text ads to small sites and blogs indicates Yahoo! doesn't plan to cede this market to Google, not by an inch. According to the CNET report, Yahoo!'s product will offer text ads that are relevant to various Web pages; advertisers pay when a reader clicks on their ad. Yahoo! and partner publishers split the fees in a revenue-sharing arrangement, according to the report.

How many kids own cell phones? Take a guess. According to NOP World Technology, 16 million teens and tweens in the United States own cell phones. NOP's mKids Study reveals that nearly half (44 percent) of 10- to 18-year-olds own a wireless phone.

Now here's a sign that the authorities are getting serious about cracking down on illegal music downloads. The other day, Parvin Dhaliwal, a University of Arizona student pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit marks, or unauthorized copies of intellectual property. The FBI discovered more than $50 million in music and movies on Dhaliwal's computer. The illegally copied property spanned the gamut from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," and "Matrix Revolutions," to "The Cat in the Hat," and "Mona Lisa Smile." Talk about variety. A federal task force that monitors the Web got wind of the situation and secured …

When it comes to political news, more Americans turned to the Web for information and analysis during the last presidential election than newspapers, according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Pew reports that 18 percent of adults used the Web as one of two main sources for news about the 2004 presidential election, versus 3 percent in 1996. Adults' reliance on newspapers fell to 39 percent last year, versus 60 percent in 1996, while their reliance on TV for political news increased …

Google has officially made its desktop search tool available; a test version has been out for a few months. Google's desktop search, like offerings from Microsoft's MSN and Yahoo!, is designed to help consumers quickly locate e-mail and files stored on their PCs. Google Desktop Search can also find AIM (AOL Instant Messaging) chat sessions, previously accessed Web pages, audio, video, and photo files, as well as PDFs and Microsoft Word files.

Amid a whirl of search-related news, the Minute has gone phishing for something else, something that aims to remove the swish from the phish. That is, if it's possible. An anti-phishing bill was introduced yesterday in Congress that if passed, would levy fines and impose jail terms for people who create fraudulent Web sites and send misleading e-mail, like phony e-mail attempts to lure important financial tidbits from unsuspecting consumers.

The other day, the Minute mentioned Chinese Web usage. In case you didn't catch it, here are a couple of data points: China is a country of 1.3 billion people, 80 million of whom have Internet access, mostly broadband access. That number is expected to grow to 120 million this year, according to the country's official Xinhua news agency.

You gotta love those wild and crazy Yahooligans. Last night, the purple team packed the Shubert theatre in New York with marketers, agency folks, the media, and its own people for a performance of "SpamAlot," a new Broadway musical currently in previews. It was a night of campy hijinks, puerile parody, and bawdy humor - the show is based on the raunchy and raucous film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

It's March! Welcome to a new month, and a long one. Also, Happy 10th birthday to Yahoo! The Internet giant celebrates a decade in business tomorrow. In New York, though, the party begins tonight as Yahoo! hosts a performance of "SpamAlot," the new Broadway show based on the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." The musical, starring David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria, and Tim Curry, is playing in previews and Yahoo! has graciously invited the Minute, along with other media types, and a host of marketers and agencies to tonight's performance. We're looking forward to swinging from the …

Nielsen//NetRatings reported market share data for the three biggest Internet search engines today. According to the company's MegaView Search Service, Google has 47 percent of all online searches, Yahoo! has 21 percent, and MSN is responsible for 13 percent of searches.