Google now owns 44% of the online ad market in terms of ad spend, while Facebook is predicted to overtake Microsoft as the third biggest portal ,according to new data.

Viewers of YouTube logged more than 1 trillion playbacks on the online video site in 2011, according to new figures from owner Google. The news comes as the video sharing site unvieled the most popular videos of the year.

In a boost to firms looking to track online marketing success, media monitoring firms Nielsen and comScore have settled their long standing patent disputes, and will now enter a cross-licensing agreement.

The NFL has struck a landmark agreement with US TV network NBC to stream next years Super Bowl online and through mobile phones.

Microsoft has sold its product search and customer reviews engine Ciao to LeGuide.com for an undisclosed sum.

Yahoo! has expanded the number of its websites around the world that let visitors automatically share what stories they read with Facebook friends.

UK shoppers will spend more than £550m online over the two-day holiday period of Christmas and Boxing Day this year, according to new research.

Zynga shares fell 13% below their IPO price this week, as the online games maker went into its second trading session since its IPO.

Following the controversial release of .xxx domain extensions for pre-registration earlier in the year, 123-reg, the UK’s largest domain registrar, is has announced the successful registration of 70 per cent of all its pre-registrations for businesses operating in the adult industry and companies who have trademarked their brands.

Saudi billionaire Prince bin Talal has paid $300m to take a “strategic stake” in Twitter.