Online retail in the U.S. and Western Europe will continue to have double-digit growth over the next five years, according to a new report from Forrester Research. U.S. and European online retail will grow at a 10 percent compound annual growth rate )CAGR( from 2010 to 2015, reaching $279 billion and 134 billion, respectively, in 2015. The forecasts include business-to-consumer sales excluding travel and financial services.

To mark the 83rd annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Google is allowing users to take a virtual tour of the event via its earth service. The Google Lat Long Blog explains . Take a virtual tour of the Kodak Theatre in Google Earth - as if you're actually there! It includes the red carpet, paparazzi and even the Oscar statues. If youd like to take your own trip on the red carpet in Google Earth , download a 3D model of the Red Carpet , Hollywood and Highland Center ,

Consumer Watchdog, an organization known for being critical of Google, has asked Rep. Rep. Ed Markey, D-MA, and Rep. Joe Barton, R-TX, for hearings on why Google collected children's social security numbers on entry forms for its Doodle 4 Google contest. In a letter to the Congressmen, who are co-chairmen of the Bipartisan House Privacy Caucus, the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group said, "The Doodle 4 Google incident is not a one-time event,

In 2010 there were 303,809 complaints of Internet crime, the second-highest total in 10 years according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center )IC3(. The IC3 received an average of 25, 317 complaints per month in 2010. Non-delivery of payment or merchandise accounted for the most common complaints )14.4%(. Scams using the FBI's name )13.2%( and identity theft )9.8%( rounded out the top three types of complaints. In 2010,

Google has introduced a new way to help people better find recipes with a new feature called Recipe View. Recipe View allows users to narrow their search results to show only recipes, and it displays ratings, ingredients and pictures on the search results page. When searching for a recipe, a link for "Recipes" will appear in the left-hand navigation panel of the search results page. When a user clicks the link, their search results will narrow to show only recipe results.

Corona is launching a new text donation campaign to help The V Foundation for Cancer Research raise money for a cancer cure. Starting March 1 through April 5, the Find a Cure text donation campaign invites people to text DontGiveUp to 85944 to donate $5 to The V Foundation , with all of the money going to fund cancer research. Crown and Corona are committed to giving back to such a deserving cause,

Social ecommerce platform Payvment has launched the first-ever shopping mall on Facebook. Payvment says its Shopping Mall on Facebook offers over one million searchable products and includes a directory of ecommerce stores, from celebrity brands to local merchants. The Shopping Mall on Facebook is where online shopping gets truly social, said Christian Taylor, founder and chief executive officer of Payvment .

TD Ameritrade said today it has launched a free new mobile trading platform for iPad users. The TD Ameritrade app is designed specifically for the multi-touch functionality, larger screen size and portability of the iPad. Key features of the app include: *Touch to trade stock, complex options, ETFs, futures and forex *Real-time quotes *Scroll through full-screen views of watch lists, positions, orders, news,

In the third quarter of 2010 4.5 million media tablets shipped, according to a new report from ABI Research. Among those, 93 percent were Apple iPads. Over time, Apples first-to-market iPad advantage will inevitably erode to some extent, said Jeff Orr, Senior practice director, ABI Research.

The Federal Trade Commission )FTC( said today it has asked a federal judge to shut down a company that allegedly sent people millions of spam text messages. The text messages allegedly advertised for a deceptive mortgage modification website called loanmod-gov.net. The FTC is asking the court to freeze the defendants assets. According to the FTC complaint, the defendant behind the operation, Phillip A. Flora, sent millions of text messages,

Ford said today it has launched an Electrified Vehicle Facebook page in an effort to educate and share information with people about its electric offerings. The Electrified Vehicle Facebook page offers users links to videos and photos of Ford's electric vehicles. Users can participate in discussions, take polls, and ask the company questions about its electric offerings.

ForRent.com said today it has partnered with online classified company Oodle to integrate its apartment listings in the Facebook Marketplace. Looking for and acquiring a home )be it renting or buying( has been called one of lifes major stressors. Engaging feedback from ones social network can ease the anxiety of this decision, said Brock MacLean, senior vice president of national sales and development at ForRent.com.

Online comic service Graphic.ly has launched an app for Android that offers users access to more than 150 publishers and over 2,000 titles. Publishers include Marvel Comics, Archaia Entertainment, Archie Comics, BOOM! Studios and IDW Publishing. Like our community, we are firm believers in the explosion of the Android market, said Micah Baldwin, CEO of Graphic.ly . Being the first to provide Marvel Comics on the Android platform is a perfect example of that belief.

Restaurant information company Zagat has relaunched its website to include more free content and increased recognition of its user reviews. Zagat has always been a brand powered by people and passion. Having listened to our users, weve re-envisioned Zagat.com, said Nina Zagat, Co-Founder, Zagat Survey. Weve greatly expanded our free content, Buzz dining blogs and innovative search tools as a result.

Yahoo has introduced a finance app for the iPad called MarketDash. MarketDash allows iPad users to manage views of stock charts, scroll across hours, days or months of market activity; plot points in time; and compare multiple stock tickers in one chart. The Yodel Anecdotal Blog offers more details. Want to take a look at how your portfolio is doing today without booting up the computer? MarketDash makes it fast and easy.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched an online All Access pass for Oscar night on Oscar.com. Beginning at 3:30 p.m. PT, Sunday, February 27, visitors to Oscar.com will be able to view red carpet arrivals of actors and celebrities via multiple camera angles. During the broadcast on ABC, users can view the backstage Thank You Cam where winners make their acceptance remarks. For $4.99 users can register to get more online access,

Zynga said today its newest game CityVille is now available in Indonesian and Turkish bringing the number of offered languages for the game to eight. Indonesian and Turkish are more language firsts for Zynga and are important markets for the company as it expands internationally. Building from the success of CityVille, an increased number of players around the world will now be able to play the game in their native languages.

Verizon said today it gas updated its V Cast Music app for Android smartphones. The new version of V Cast Music is available for Android 2.1 or higher. The service allows users to buy full-track songs in an MP3 format without DRM. V Cast Music will now also offer full-track songs for 69 cents, 99 cents or $1.29 per song, which can be downloaded over the air to a smartphone, and then moved to a computer or other MP3-compatible device using V Cast Media Manager.

Billboard has launched a chart app on the iPhone, aimed at music fans, artists and people in the industry. The Billboard Chart App features 15 charts from the Hot 100 and Billboard 200, along with genre rankings and ringtones. Users can view 60 years of chart history, search by artist, album, song, view ranking details, listen to 30 seconds of music and make purchases via iTunes. Our charts are already a huge draw on Billboard.com,

Jeep said today it has become the first domestic automotive brand to surpass 1 million fans on Facebook. Jeep said it exceeds the next closest domestic automotive brand by more than 450,000 Facebook fans. "We are honored to be the first and only domestic automotive brand that can claim more than 1 million Facebook fans," said Mike Manley, President and CEO Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.