U.K.-based Mobile Search Company Taptu Raises $10 Million, Hires COO

Mobile search engine developer Taptu has raised around £6.45million in a second round of funding, bringing their total funding to £11.45million with help from investors 3i and Sofinnova. The money will be used to grow its userbase and establish how best to monetize the search engine, said new COO Andreas Bernstrom.

The Washington Post

Japan networking site stock soars 45 pct in debut

While the global financial and economic crisis has largely put the brakes on a slow Japan IPO market, Japanese social networking site operator Gree Inc has emerged as the one shining star, its shares soaring 45 percent in their debut on the Tokyo bourse on Wednesday.

The Guardian

Yahoo launches pitch to beef up mobile services

Yahoo is seeking a roster of mobile agencies to develop and deliver mobile creative services.  It’s looking to build its capabilities around the mobile Internet as seeks to drive ad sales across Europe and encourage greater take-up of mobile ad opportunities by offering clients a range of additional services.

New Media Age

Internet Explorer users warned to change browser over security fears

A serious flaw in security has left Internet Explorer users exposed to attacks from hackers hoping to steal personal data and passwords by tricking them into visiting unsafe websites. It is thought that two million computers have already been affected as Microsoft conceded that 1 in 500 internet users may have been exposed.

The Times

Half of women prefer web to sex, says survey

According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Intel, 65% of adults say they can't live without the internet. 46% of women and 30% of men said they would rather go without sex for a fortnight than give up internet access.

The Independent

Internet advertising threatened by concerns of breaches of privacy

Virgin Media says it still intends to use some form of targeted advertising technology to take advantage of the data that its network collects of its subscribers’ Internet usage.  Many of Virgin Media’s customers have expressed concern of its deal with Phorm, which has been slammed as cyber snooping technology.

The Guardian

North Korea launches restricted mobile service

One of the most secretive countries has launched a mobile phone but the service is likely to reach only a slice of the population. This is a remarkable development for the country that last saw a mobile service launch in 2002 but was then withdrawn after a mysterious train bombing.

The Guardian

Apple pulls out of Macworld

Apple has announced that January’s Macworld will be the last that it participates in. It also announced that Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing will provide the keynote speech in stead of CEO Steve Jobs. This may mark the beginning of Apple holding its own events rather than attend industry conferences.

Silicon.com 

Siemens pays €1bn in corruption fines

Siemens has been ordered to pay €1 billion in fines to settle two long-running corruption cases. The company was fined for activity related to a bribery fund being set up to win new contracts and a case accusing the Board of failing to fulfil its supervisory obligations.

Information Age 

Nortel seeks advice to avoid bankruptcy

Nortel denies that it is about to declare bankruptcy but is simply seeking advice in order to avoid it. It’s already looking to sell its profitable Metro Ethernet division and has announced more redundancies. Last month it announced a $3.4bn loss, which sparked speculation it was about to collapse.

Information Age