eBay has partnered with the National Retail Federation )NRF(, the trade association for the retail industry, to fight organized retail crime. The partnership between eBay and the NRF will receive support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as part of an effort to halt crime in which items are stolen from physical stores and then sold online.

CBS and the NCAA said Friday their March Madness on Demand )MMOD( live-streaming video player attracted record traffic for the first day of the men's basketball tournament. In total, there were 3.4 million hours of live streaming video and audio consumed, over 20 percent growth compared to 2009, with 3 million more unique visitors to the MMOD video player. Both figures represent the largest single day of traffic for a live sporting event on the Internet.

Real-time search engine OneRiot has launched RiotWise Trending Ad Units, which automatically refresh based on what's trending on the social web. Previously, OneRiot's Trending Ads were available only via OneRiot's API, meaning developers had to create a customized user interface for their ads. RiotWise Trending Ads link the latest published and relevant content from OneRiot's network of media partners.

The Kentucky Supreme court issued a ruling Thursday that it will not lift the freeze by registrars of 141 Internet gambling domain names unless an owner of the names comes forward. The ruling by the Court is not final, but the decision is being viewed as a temporary setback by the affected parties. Joe Brennan Jr. IMEGAs chairman "In the written decision, the Court clearly indicates they agree with our arguments, and are inviting us to refile,

Internet users who click on links posted on Facebook that lead to news and media websites are more loyal to those portals than those coming from Google News, according to new data from Hitwise. Among the most popular top 5 print media websites for the week ending March 6, 78 percent of Facebook users were returning visitors compared to 67 percent from Google news. The same was true for broadcast media,

Google has released a Google Buzz widget for Android phones aimed at making it easier for users to update their status and share content with others. The Google Buzz widget allows users to post text and photos with a single tap, directly from the Android home screen. The Google Mobile Blog provides more details. "Like other mobile access points for Google Buzz, the widget lets you choose to tag your post with the location or place from which it was posted.

The use of the Internet to watch full television episodes has tripled since 2006 among those aged 13-to-54, according to a new report from Knowledge Networks. Among Internet users 13-to-54 viewing complete TV show episodes via streaming or downloaded video has grown from 8 percent to 22 percent. For Internet users 18-to-34 viewing of complete TV show episodes via streaming or downloading has climbed from 12 percent to 30 percent.

Real estate website Zillow.com told WebProNews today it has launched a free Zillow Android application. The Zillow Android app uses GPS technology to find and follow users on an aerial map, and displays "Zestimate" values, homes for sale, homes for rent and recently-sold data on the homes around them. Users can also search for homes, even they are not in the vicinity, by tapping the Android platform's voice search capabilities. By saying an address, neighborhood,

Amazon.com has released its free Kindle for Mac application that allows users to read books from the Kindle Store on their Mac computers. Kindle for Mac is Amazon's latest application aimed at expanding Kindle content to a wider range of devices. Kindle books can now be read on the iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC and Mac. Amazon said it also plans a Kindle app for Apple's upcoming iPad tablet.

People who are Facebook fans and Twitter followers of a brand are more likely to buy the brand's product or recommend it to a friend, according to a new study by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies. The study of 1,500 consumers found that 60 percent of Facebook fans and 79 percent of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands since becoming a fan or follower.

Yahoo said today it is acquiring social sports site Citizen Sports in an effort to strengthen its strategy of aggregating and distributing social content online. Terms of the acquisition were not released. "Yahoo! is in a unique position to combine our deep expertise in content and aggregation technology to offer a highly personalized social experience," said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president, Consumer Products Group, Yahoo!.

YouTube has expanded its partner program and has introduced "Musicians Wanted" aimed at getting independent bands or artists to submit music videos to the site. Interested independent bands or artist can apply for Musicians Wanted through YouTube's Partner Program. Those who are accepted will have their own page where they can add details about where they will be playing, provide links to buying music and showcase their music videos.

Ebay's online payment service PayPal said today it would double the number of employees in Asia Pacific from 1,000 currently to more than 2,000 by the end of the year. PayPal said it plans to add more than 100 new jobs at its international headquarters in Singapore. New jobs will be located at all seven offices including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. For its Singapore business headquarters,

The worldwide mobile applications market is on track to be worth $17.5 by 2012, according to a new report commissioned by GetJar, the globe's second largest app store. Mobile app downloads across all handsets are estimated to climb from over 7 billion downloads in 2009 to almost 50 billion in 2012, a year-over- year growth rate of 92 percent. GetJar commissioned consulting firm Chetan Sharma Consulting to examine the rapidly expanding global apps market.

With the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament starting next week )March 16(, it's no surprise the majority )83%( of fans will watch coverage on television, while 44 percent will go online and 10 percent will use a mobile device, according to a new survey by Unicast. Among those planning to follow the tournament online or on a mobile device, a majority will visit ESPN.com )69%(. Other branded popular sports sites fans plan to visit include Yahoo Sports )42%(, Fox )24%(,

Nearly all consumers )97%( now use online media when researching products or services locally, according to a new report from BIA/Kelsey and ConStat. Among consumers surveyed, 90 percent use search engines, 48 percent use Internet Yellow Pages, 24 percent use vertical sites, and 42 percent use comparison shopping sites. "The Internet has indeed become an integral part of consumers' local commercial activity," said Steve Marshall, director of research, BIA/Kelsey .

Google has partnered with Rails-to-Trails )RTC(, a nonprofit focused on creating a network of trails from former rail lines, to add biking directions to Google Maps. Google Maps now has biking route details for more than 150 U.S. cities covering more than 12,000 miles of trails and bike lanes. Google says it plans to continue to add new trail information to Google Maps and is requesting feedback from riders via the " Report a Problem " tool.

Social media plays an important role in problem solving and strategy development in the workplace according to a new survey of 900 human resources executives conducted by Toolbox.com and PJA. Among HR executives and professionals, social media usage outpaced editorial and vendor content consumption. Respondents used social media at a rate of 3.77 hours per week, compared to 2.77 hours of online editorial content and 2.13 hours of online vendor content.

WebMD has launched WebMD Health Exchange, a new health social networking platform. WebMD Health exchange allows people to connect with health experts and other WebMD members to share experiences, discuss personal challenges, and receive answers and support. " WebMD Health Exchange is a powerful new way to connect our 60 million monthly users to share their own experiences and personal wisdom across any area of health and wellness," said Wayne Gattinella,

Warner Music Group has entered into a licensing agreement with online video sharing site Dailymotion. Warner will offer music videos via Dailymotion's website in the U.S., Europe and North Africa. "We are delighted that our large and growing repertoire of quality music videos includes content from Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, EMI and leading independent The Orchard," said Joy Marcus, General Manager of Dailymotion U.S.