Online Lawsuits Fuel Debate in France

PARIS - Attorney Jean-Marc Goldnadel knew he was going to make waves when he launched classaction.fr — a French Web site that lets users sign up to lawsuits online for as little as 12 euros ($14.50).

Sure enough, the site has ruffled France's traditionalist establishment and raised the temperature of a debate on government plans to let plaintiffs file U.S.-style class actions in French courts.

But Maitre Goldnadel underestimated the backlash, and even several consumer groups are trying to shut him

Google and Sun to challenge Microsoft's Office

WiFi competition in S.F.

Google may have the cachet, but it faces nearly two dozen competitors -- some of them serious players in the telecom business -- that have expressed interest in bringing free or cheap wireless Internet access to San Francisco.

The city Monday released the name of 24 companies that responded to its call for suggestions on how to set up public access throughout the city. Among the companies that responded by Friday's deadline were wireless giant Cingular and Internet service provider Earthlink. Equipment

China Shuts Down Web Sites in Crackdown

Chinese authorities have shut down an online discussion forum that reported on anti-corruption protests in a village in the country's south as well as a Web site serving ethnic Mongolians, overseas monitors said Tuesday.

China routinely shuts down or blocks Web sites that operate outside of government control, but the issue has received heightened international attention in recent weeks with the publication of new rules aimed at stifling online dissent.

Radio Free Asia, a U.S.-based broadcaster, said an online forum that

Travel Industry Gets New Online Domain

A new online domain for the travel industry is open for business. Airlines, theme parks, restaurants, tourism offices and others in travel and tourism are eligible for Web sites and e-mail addresses ending in ".travel."

The new domain could give consumers confidence that they are dealing with a legitimate travel business or group, though the mantra of "buyer beware" applies: Operators of the domain won't be performing any credit or criminal background checks or offering any guarantees.

New York-based Tralliance Corp.,

Sun, Google Form Alliance

Sun Microsystems and Google will unveil a new software-based relationship this week.

Scott McNealy, Sun Microsystems Inc.'s CEO and president, and Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt will make the announcement on Tuesday at an event in Mountain View, Calif.

A source close to Sun told eWEEK that John Loiacono, the executive vice president for software at the Santa Clara, Calif., company, as well as Curtis Sasaki, Sun's vice president of engineering for Desktop Software Solutions, responsible for managing the development of

Yahoo takes on rival Google with controversial digital library plan

US Internet giant Yahoo! Inc. unveiled plans to take on its arch-rival Google by launching an ambitious digital library that will make the full text of millions of books available online.

The move came after Google last December unveiled similar plans to set up a digital library but later suspended the scheme amid fierce opposition from publishers and traditional libraries worried about copyright infringement.

California-based Yahoo! said it had teamed up with Adobe Systems Inc., the European Archive, HP Labs, the

What's Google's Next Move?

In just seven years, Google Inc. has morphed from a bare-bones online search engine into a technological octopus that seems to sprout another intriguing tentacle every other week.

The Mountain View, Calif.,-based company, with $7.1 billion to spend thanks to zealous shareholder support, is now positioned to head down a variety of different paths. And that's spurring an almost-daily guessing game about where Google's flurry of innovation might lead.

Internet and software rivals like Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and Microsoft

Yahoo-Backed Alliance to Open Web Library

Internet powerhouse Yahoo Inc. is setting out to build a vast online library of copyrighted books that pleases publishers — something rival Google Inc. hasn't been able to achieve.

The Open Content Alliance, a project that Yahoo is backing with several other partners, plans to provide digital versions of books, academic papers, video and audio. Much of the material will consist of copyrighted material voluntarily submitted by publishers and authors, said David Mandelbrot, Yahoo's vice president of search content.

Other participants

Google Morphs Into Multifaceted Juggernaut

In just seven years, Google Inc. has morphed from a bare-bones online search engine into a technological octopus that seems to sprout another intriguing tentacle every other week.

The Mountain View, Calif.,-based company, with $7.1 billion to spend thanks to zealous shareholder support, is now positioned to head down a variety of different paths. And that's spurring an almost-daily guessing game about where Google's flurry of innovation might lead.

Internet and software rivals like Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and Microsoft