Daily News Links

• A Hamburg court has ruled that forum owners should have unlimited liability, and are co-culpable for, any comments or discussions that take place on their sites, even if posted by third parties (eg. users) and without the forum owners knowledge.  Read more here (from Heise.de).
• Nielsen will begin tracking mobile phone users' media consumption as part of an effort to provide advertisers and entertainment companies with more accurate data about cell-phone usage. A growing number of mobile phone owners are using their devices to download content.  Read more here (from the Financial Times).
• Interest in digital documents continues with a New York state bill proposing to study preservation of electronic documents.  Read more here (from CNET News.com).
• Twelve major universities will digitize select collections in each of their libraries -- up to 10 million volumes -- as part of Google's book-scanning project. The goal: a shared digital repository that faculty, students and the public can access quickly.  Read more here (from Yahoo News).
• Five of the largest Internet service providers in the US plan to start charging businesses for guaranteed delivery of their e-mails, in a bid to combat spam.  Goodmail Systems, which provides a service called CertifiedEmail, announced Thursday that it had signed up Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable's Road Runner and Verizon as customers. E-mails certified using the system will be marked with a blue ribbon to show they come from a trusted source, thus bypassing spam filters--a privilege that will cost the sender a quarter of a US cent per e-mail.  Read more here (from ZDNet).
• Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani launches what he says is the "final contribution" to his career as a game maker.  Read more here (from the Sydney Morning Herald).
• The Australian Lawyers Alliance plans to launch a national campaign to overturn proposed restrictions on what solicitors can say to the media.  Read more here (from The Australian).
• A Chinese newspaper has fired three editors over an ad which mentioned the Tiananmen Square massacre.  Read more here (from Media Guardian).
• Chinese users whose PCs were crippled by a faulty virus update are suing Symantec for damages.  Read more here (from PC World).
• After suffering soreness in his shoulder, doctor decides he has a Wii-related injury and writes in to respected medical journal.  Read more here (from ZDNet).
• The patent office recently approved an updated version of Amazon's infamous "one-click" patent that covers ordering items to be shipped to a third party.  Read more here (from Ars Technica).
• Justice Minister Rein Lang, one of the survivors of the recent denial-of-service attacks that hit some of the country's websites, concedes the Russian government may not have been responsible after all.  Read more here (from Wired).
• Study finds that potential iPhone customers are mostly men in their early 30s, but device also has a wider appeal.  Read more here (from PC World).
• Consumers claimed a victory Thursday as EU governments agreed to cut the cost of using mobile phones abroad, paving the way for a cap on roaming fees to be introduced later this summer.  Read more here (from the Washington Post).
• Oasis standards group ratifies a tamper-proof method for handling electronic timestamps, postmarks or official corporate imprimaturs.  Read more here (from ZDNet).
• Time Warner, the world's largest media company says it may consider selling its stake in cable division, AOL; dismisses notion of selling Time Inc.  Read more here (from CNN).
• The US International Trade Commission dealt Qualcomm and a number of cellular providers a blow with a decision that could keep many new handsets off the US market.  Read more here (from Ars Technica).
• Shopping social networks have become increasingly important in helping shoppers make decisions, and retailers are catching on. Indeed, stores and designers are launching pages and making product pitches on Shopbop, Shopstyle.com and Stylehive.com, which are serious drivers of sales.  Read more here (from the Wall Street Journal).
• Revver, which has seen the departure of many of its prominent founders, employees, and content producers, has announced its final remaining founder, Steven Starr, will be stepping back from his CEO role and assuming the position of chairman of the startup’s board of directors.  Read more here (from NewTeeVee).
• NBC Universal Digital Media has announced its “Live From the Peacock Room” concert series online and in Second Life. The concert is showcasing artists Fuel, Drowning Pool, Stereo Suite, Les Claypool, Nova and Dispatch, among others. Read more here (from Mashable).
• Microsoft research found that municipal Wi-Fi is plagued by end-user problems, but demand is still high.  Read more here (from PC World).
• Carnegie Mellon research counters prior studies showing online shoppers are willing to sacrifice privacy for lower prices.  Read more here (from CNET News.com).
• A Texas woman has settled a file-sharing case brought against her by the RIAA after a motion for sanctions against the RIAA's attorney went awry. The fact that the evidence showed she was directly responsible for the Kazaa share in question didn't help her cause.  Read more here (from Ars Technica).
• The chief executive of Philadelphia Media Holdings has expressed an interest in buying Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones.  Read more here (from Media Guardian).
• Apple hasn't yet sold a single iPhone, but investors are driving up the company's shares to record highs on the back of anticipated sales.  Read more here (from The Age).
• Online advertising is the bright spot in an otherwise moribund advertising market, according to new figures reported by top media research firms. The surge in Internet ad spending is boosting the fortunes of pure-play online media firms; Google's stock hit a new all-time high on Tuesday.  Read more here (from CNN Money).
• It is a dark time for record labels and mainstream radio, but the people who pick music for video games say there has never been a better time to be an aspiring rock star.  Read more here (from Reuters).
• Parents would like to use the internet to provide "truancy alerts" if their child fails to turn up for school, a government survey has found.  Read more here (from Technology Guardian).
• Paramount Vantage is partnering with MySpace to find people to be cast in Paramount’s upcoming film How She Move.  Read more here (from Mashable).
• JetBlue will partner with Google Maps to allow customers to map the routes of their flights in real time on the plane's seatback TVs.  Read more here (from PC World).
• Digital images provider Jupitermedia is acquiring the user-generated Web sites AdsOfTheWorld.com and CreativeBits.org for an undisclosed amount. Both sites, serving creative and design communities, will be part of Jupitermedia's Graphics.com network.  Read more here (from Reuters).