Pew: Number of online video viewers is shooting up Visits to video-sharing web sites like YouTube have long been on the rise, and it appears men are driving much of that traffic. They are about twice as likely as women to visit such sites, according to a report released yesterday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. In December about 48 percent of internet users said they’ve visited a video-sharing site at least once to watch or post video, up from 33 percent in December 2006. On a typical day, 15 percent of users watch or post a video, nearly double the 8 percent who said they did so a year ago. Twenty percent of men said they visited a video site yesterday in the survey, compared to 11 percent of women. Female usage is growing at a faster clip, however, up 120 percent from just 5 percent last year, while men have increased usage by 82 percent. Pew attributes the growth of video sites to an increase in broadband internet connections but says another factor is there’s simply more videos online than there were a year ago.   LA prosecutors hope to make MySpace fraud = crime If Los Angeles prosecutors get their way, setting up a fake MySpace account will become a crime. A federal grand jury there has issued subpoenas in the case of a 13-year-old Missouri girl who committed suicide after being taunted through a fake MySpace account, the Los Angeles Times is reporting. The popular social networking web site, which is owned by News Corp., is based in Los Angeles. Prosecutors in Missouri said they couldn’t find a law that would support filing criminal charges against the people who set up the fake online profile. Federal prosecutors say those who create false MySpace accounts could be found in violation of federal wire fraud and cyberfraud laws. However, the People for Internet Responsibility says using fraud statutes in such a case could seriously invade online privacy. The suicide case, which received loads of national attention, led several cities and states to pass anti-cyberbullying and anti-harassment laws.   Apple takes bite out of British iTunes download prices Apple is changing its tune when it comes to pricing for iTunes downloads in Europe. The company was charging those living in Britain about 9 cents more per downloaded song than it cost for those living in the 27 countries using the euro. Within the next six months, Apple plans to reduce what it charges British iTunes visitors to match those at its 16 stores in Europe. Apple CEO Steve Jobs hopes to one day set up a single iTunes store for all of Europe. Apple has said the pricing difference was to make up for more expensive distribution rights charged by British record companies. Growing internet music sales in Europe haven’t helped offset slow CD sales in recent years. JupiterResearch found that while digital music spending in Europe was up 63 percent last year compared with 2006, it only made up for just 13 percent of lost CD sales.   P*^% through your PC: The new HD movie service With services popping up like Vudu, which uses the set-top box technology to offer DVD-quality mainstream movies on demand via broadband, it's no surprise that other genres are seizing this new direct-to-TV market. Now there's a set-top service for adult films, allowing the consumer to search for and download full-length movies at the touch of a button. The new service, Fyre, is being served up by entrepreneur Estefano Isaias, who's calling it the first set-top box to give on-demand delivery of DVD-quality adult movies. He introduced the device yesterday at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, taking place near the better-known International Consumer Electronics Show this week. The box for Fyre will be free but requires a subscription plan that ranges anywhere from $10 to $100 per month. Currently it offers about 20,000 titles, as compared with Vudu's 5,000, but there’s a reason for that. Isaias plans to hand over a share of the revenue to the adult film studios that produce the movies.