Aimster, a new Napster-like program that piggybacks on America Online’s Instant Messaging service and could be the biggest nightmare to date for studios trying to stop film and music swapping online, said it has held initial talks with Intel Corp. to forge ties, reports Reuters.

Nielsen/NetRatings says Yahoo! is “top of the world,” with
AOL and MSN trailing behind. From ZDNN.

Japan is drawing up a five-year plan
to surpass the United States as an Internet
powerhouse, reports Austin360, through massive investment in
high-speed infrastructure and scuttling laws
that inhibit e-commerce.

In a crackdown on right wing content on Web sites, a
German state has introduced a £157 fine for ISPs which host
them. From ZDCOUK.com.

Indiqu today announced it is offering wireless games to clients of Clearnet
Communications Inc., who have Web Ready Pay & Talk phones. From PRNewswire.

The ACI Precedent laptop may do pretty much everything a
desktop can, but the price will give your bank manager heart
failure, says ZDNN.

Reuters reports that A US Federal court Thursday ordered software giant Microsoft to
pay Bristol Technology $1m in punitive damages for engaging in
“wanton, reckless” and deceptive business practices.

Amid mounting privacy concerns, online retail giant Amazon.com
has revised its privacy policy and plans to e-mail a copy to its 23
million customers over the next week. From the Seattle Times.

ZDCOUK.com reports that several British ISPs are considering providing offshore email
services in an effort to evade the government’s controversial
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act which gives the authorities
unprecedented surveillance powers.

It’s good being a government these days, reports GlobeTechnology.com. You get to sell something that no one sees — wireless bandwidth —
for a whole whack of money. So why is it worth so much?