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Google says it is not building a Facebook rival

Internet search leader Google Inc is not building a social network to compete with Facebook, a company executive reiterated on Thursday, despite an intensifying rivalry between the two leading Internet groups.

“We’re not working on a social network platform that’s just going to be another social network platform,” Google’s head of mobile product development, Hugo Barra, said in answer to a question at the Monaco Media Forum.

“We do think that social is an ingredient for success for any app going forward, search and advertising being probably the best two examples that I would mention. So that’s how we’re thinking about the problem.” Get the full story »

Amazon no longer selling guide for pedophiles

Amazon is no longer selling a self-published guide for pedophiles. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Amazon.com Inc. had pulled the item, or whether the author withdrew it. Amazon did not immediately return messages Thursday.

Google employee fired after leaking raise memo

From CNNMoney | Google has fired an employee who leaked news that the search giant is giving a 10 percent across-the-board pay raise to it workers. Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced the salary hike in a memo late Tuesday, which was then posted on several blogs, including Business Insider. Get the full story »

Pedophilia guide sold by Amazon causes outrage

Amazon.com Inc. is selling a self-published guide that offers advice to pedophiles and that has generated outrage on the Internet and boycott threats.

The availability of “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct” calls into question whether Amazon has procedures — or even an obligation — to vet books before they are sold in its online stores. Amazon did not respond to multiple e-mail and phone messages. Get the full story »

Yahoo rumored to be circling Groupon

From Business Insider | A source “close to Groupon investors” says that Yahoo is reportedly in sales talks with online daily deals site Groupon.

FCC confirms privacy probe of Google Street View

The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether Google Inc. broke federal laws when its street-mapping service collected consumers’ personal information, joining a lengthy list of regulators probing what Google says was inadvertent harvesting of private data sent over wireless networks.

The FCC opened its investigation this year, an FCC official confirmed Wednesday. An FCC spokeswoman didn’t immediately have comment on the agency’s investigation. The FCC generally doesn’t publicly disclose details of its investigations. Get the full story »

Google announces ‘Instant Previews’ search feature

People searching on Google will soon be able to see previews of websites before clicking on them.

The “Instant Previews” feature announced Tuesday is meant to help people bypass websites that are either irrelevant or simply too visually cluttered for their tastes. It works for Google web searches, as well as searches for news, video and local businesses. Get the full story »

Queen Elizabeth II joins Facebook

On Monday, the British monarchy got even more modern, when its page on the popular social networking site went live. The page, called “The British Monarchy,” will provide updates on the royal family’s activities and upcoming schedule. It has 113,000 “likes” so far, and more coming fast.

Amazon to buy Diapers.com owner for $500M

Expanding its online retail empire, Amazon.com Inc. said Monday that it is buying Quidsi, the owner of Diapers.com and Soap.com, for $500 million in cash.

Broadband usage growing even as gaps persist

The U.S. still faces a significant gap in residential broadband use that breaks down along incomes, education levels and other socio-economic factors, even as subscriptions among American households overall grew sevenfold from 2001 to 2009. Get the full story »

Report: AOL hires financial adviser for Yahoo pursuit

AOL Inc. has hired financial advisers to look into strategic options that could include a combination with Yahoo Inc., according to a newspaper report.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that AOL’s advisers have been presenting various scenarios to the company about possible ways the two could combine operations. It cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. Get the full story »

Orbitz shares tank on threat from American

Shares of online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide Inc. tumbled 18 percent on news that American Airlines has threatened to stop selling tickets on Orbitz sites.

Orbitz said American, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, was threatening to pull its content if the travel agency did not use a direct link to the carrier’s inventory instead of a global distribution service, which negotiates prices. Get the full story »

Facebook adds Deals discounts with check-ins

If you use Facebook to “check in” to your favorite restaurants or shops, you can now expect to see rewards and discounts from companies looking to drum up business and lure in loyal customers.

Facebook is looking to bridge online advertising with people’s offline behavior as it announced a service called “Deals.” It’s an extension of Places, the check-in feature the company unveiled this year. Rising with the explosive growth of smart phones, services based on people’s location help them find coupons, earn quirky merit badges or simply share with friends where they are. Get the full story »

Investment sales boost still struggling AOL in 3Q

AOL Inc.’s earnings more than doubled in the third quarter thanks to gains on investments it sold, yet revenue declined sharply as online ad sales fell and its dial-up Internet access business continued to falter.

Nonetheless, the company’s results seemed to give investors some reassurance that AOL is on the right track in its plans to turn its business around. Shares rose more than 6 percent in afternoon trading. Get the full story »