RIAA files more download suits for a total of 9K 
The music industry continues its crusade against illegal downloads. With several lawsuits having been to trial and many cases pending, the Recording Industry Association of America said yesterday it has filed suits against another 753 more people it suspects of illegally distributing songs over the internet. To combat illegal downloading, the industry has taken on everyone involved with file sharing, from the companies that distribute the software to the people who use it. So far, the RIAA has sued more than 9,000 people for spreading songs over peer to peer networks such as eDonkey and Kazaa. Many have settled.

Jupiter: Local search will jump by $300M by '09
Don't believe the hype--paid search is far from over, and local search is heating up. At the first day of the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York yesterday, Jupiter Research predicted paid search will grow faster than any other sector of online advertising, increasing from $2.6 billion last year to $5.5 billion in 2009. The company did project that the rate of growth will decline as the market matures and that year-over-year growth will fall from 42 percent in 2005 to 18 percent by 2007, and 10 percent by 2009, though that's to be expected of any segment that grows so quickly so fast. Jupiter expects local search to grow from $502 million in 2004 to $879 million by 2009, though it will decrease from 6 percent of total online ad spending in 2004 to 5.5 percent by 2009. 

Yahoo turns 10 and we all get free ice cream
Yahoo is having a birthday, and we're all invited to party. All registered Yahoo users in the United States can download a coupon for a free scoop of Baskin-Robbins ice cream tomorrow to celebrate the company's 10th anniversary. Co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo developed Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo out of a college hobby. The company, currently skirmishing with Google over search supremacy, is no stranger to good times. Yahoo adopted a yodel as its signature sound and painted the offices purple and yellow. The company has amassed an audience of 345 million, 165 million of which are registered users.

Soon-to-be mom auctions off junior's birth rights
A South Carolina mom-to-be is milking her pregnancy until the very last contraction. So far she’s squeezed almost $10,000 out of online casino Goldenpalace.com. Amber Rainey auctioned off her pregnant belly on eBay to be used as advertising space. She hit the jackpot when the online casino paid her more than $4,000. Now  Rainey has put the rights to sponsor the birth of her son up for bid, and Goldenpalace won again, agreeing to pay the 22-year-old $5,600 for film, photo and internet rights. Family members present for the birth will wear clothes bearing the logos of the casino, and any cars used to rush them to the hospital will also feature a logo. Rainey is due March 21.