Industry News

Search engine to sponsor Man Utd?
Blue chip firms and mega-brands - including Google and Yahoo! - are apparently lining up to take over the shirt sponsorship of Manchester United after Vodafone's decision to curtail its sponsorship deal. [The Register]

Microsoft to challenge Google Base
Microsoft is planning a rival to the newly-launched Google Base. The new service currently codenamed 'Fremont' is said to allow users to post their own classified advertisements on the web alongside contact details. [PC Pro]

IE flaw uses Google Desktop
A security researcher in Israel has found a way to steal information from unwitting users of Google's desktop search tool by exploiting an unpatched flaw in Microsoft's ubiquitous Internet Explorer. [ZDNet]

The State of Search Today and Tomorrow
The creative director at Kinetic Results winds up Search Week with a look back at 2005 and a look ahead to 2006. [IMedia]

Google Fixes Desktop Search Loophole
Google has strengthened its Desktop Search tool so that it cannot be used any longer by hackers who are exploiting an unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer software. [Yahoo News]

Yahoo! Poll Shows 80% of Holiday Shoppers Buy Online
Eight out of ten holiday shoppers (83 percent) said they would shop for holiday gifts online, and a similar number said they are likely to purchase gifts online from small businesses, according to a new survey commissioned by Yahoo. [ECom Guide]

Blogs reflect power of the pen
The continuing growth of blogging has changed the way journalists think about their work, argues technology analyst Bill Thompson. And it is for the better. [BBC News]

Growing pains for Wikipedia
For Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, last week was a tough one. And he's going to change the ground rules for the popular anyone-can-contribute encyclopedia because of it. [ZD Net]

Net thinkers look to web's future
A hundred of the folk who Web organisers believe will shape the net's future over the next 10 years, were invited to enjoy top-flight hospitality in the penthouse suite of smart broadcaster HBO's New York headquarters on Tuesday night. [BBC News]

Why Christmas falls on 12 December
This year, Christmas will fall on a Monday - 12 December to be exact. Well, at least for online retailers. [BBC News]