China's Netizens May Overtake US

China's internet users are increasing by leaps and bounds. According to its state-controlled think-tank, China "could soon overtake the US to have the world's largest number of internet users."

China had 137m internet users by the end of 2006, an increase of 23% from the year before, the China Internet Network Information Center told state media.

This figure means that more than 10% of the population is now online. China will only surpass this number if it keeps up a 24% annual growth rate in the next two years.

The Chinese government encourages people to go online for education or business purposes. The rapid rise in internet use has boosted the country's online commerce, advertising and games industries.

About 210 million of America's 300 million people now use the internet, according to US government figures.

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Do's And Don'ts of Digg

Neil Patel and Todd Malicoat know a thing or two about Digg. As active members of the Digg community (in addition to their roles as leading SEO consultants) they’re afforded a unique perspective on the market. Having recently met with Neil and Todd at Search Engine Strategies, WebProNews had the chance to sling some burning questions from these two guys:

Becks In The USA!

The Beckham circus is coming to town! Los Angeles' gossip rags have gone abuzz at the prospect of former England captain and Manchester United star David and his celebrity wife Victoria 'Posh Spice' Beckham hitting town with a bang!

Beckham is on his way to join the Los Angeles Galaxy in a reported USD250 million deal.

With Beckham's glory days as a football "galactico" fading like fashionable denim jeans and the familiar sight of him warming the bench at Spanish giants Real Madrid, now under Italian coach Fabio Capello, it's obvious his reign in Spain has come to an end.

No, it's not back to England for him, or to any other top European clubs. There have been not much interest for one of football's top earners in the world on the Euro front. But now he's gonna earn his quarter of a billion in yankee dollars in the Golden State. Beckham had opened a soccer academy in LA in 2005.

One British newspaper wag believes Beckham would be having the last laugh by going Hollywood. He's 32 and still have a few more years to show Major League Soccer that he can still cut it there.

Beckham could become possibly one of the highest paid sportsmen in the US of A. Jolly good move, Becks.

And don't forget, there's Posh beside him. Posh and Becks, or "Posh and Bucks!" are one of the world's most photographed couples. The papparazzi just love them.

It's well-known that the Beckhams have struck up a friendship with Hollywood star Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes. So getting into the super-lifestyle there would be a piece of cake for them.

Hollywood

And Now Yahoo Buy MyBlogLog

Social networking was the main talking point last year with the acquisitions of MySpace by Rupert Murdoch and YouTube by Google. It looks like it's not going to end there.

Yahoo continues the acquisition story with the announcement on Jan 8 that it has bought the popular community site MyBlogLog. Yahoo's latest purchase followed a strings of acquisitions of other social networking sites that includes Del.icio.us, Flickr and Upcoming.

MyBlogLog, founded in 2005, enables registered users to form communities and provide them with online tools to create a profile and associate it with their blogs.

"If blogging was originally about building a community and having a conversation with people in that community, then MyBlogLog provides the missing link that makes those connections more real," Chad Dickerson, senior director of Yahoo Developer Network, said in a company blog announcing the deal.

> The jig is up - MyBlogLog joins Yahoo!

Going GaGa Over Apple's iPhone

Rampant speculation and expectation were put to rest Tuesday as Apple boss Steve Jobs unveiled the long-awaited iPhone that will use a patented technology called "multi-touch."

The buzz was so huge it almost choked the Internet bandwidth. By unveiling this "super-smart" iPhone, Apple confirmed it's elbowing its way into the telecoms industry.

"It works like magic... It's far more accurate than any touch display ever shipped. It ignores unintended touches. It's super-smart," said Jobs at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

Jobs said the "magical device" would "revolutionalize the industry."

The iPhone comes in 4GB and 8GB models and has a 2 megapixel camera. It works with new touch-screen technology.

Wanna buy one? The iPhone will set you back from USD499 to USD599. It will be launched sometime in June in the US. Europe will get it later this year. Now we drool over it!

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> Read...iPhone a smash - because everyone else is stupid