EU plan on roaming fees gains
In its first legislative test, an EU proposal to limit cellphone roaming fees emerged largely intact from a parliamentary committee in Brussels on Thursday.

News Corp. and NBC Universal to create a rival to YouTube
The two media giants will sell full-length TV shows and movies on the site, supported by advertising.

Oracle sues SAP, claiming fraud and unfair competition
The suit in U.S. District Court accuses Oracle of stealing software code on a "grand scale."

Court overturns U.S. law against online pornography
The Child Online Protection Act was unconstitutionally vague, judge rules.

HBO hopes to hit a high note after end of 'Sopranos'
With a last season of the cable television drama "The Sopranos" scheduled to start airing in the United States on April 8, HBO, will soon be without its star performer.

McCartney signs with Starbucks record label
Paul McCartney, the former Beatle, has decided to sign with Starbucks.

EU competition chief calls Microsoft's expansion 'worrying'
Neelie Kroes said the software firm continued to gain market share with 'abusive behavior.'

Geeky gadgets get shot of high-fashion bling
Philips, of consumer electronics fame, and Swarovski, the cut-crystal company, are teaming up to create consumer electronics accessories.

Editor of Russian edition of Forbes is found guilty of defamation
A Moscow court ruled against the editor for commenting publicly on the controversy surrounding publication of the article.

Dell introduces a low-cost PC for China
The computer maker, which aims to bolster sales in developing markets, said the new system was designed for first-time users.

Microsoft dominance concerns EU official

The European competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said Thursday that it was "worrying" that Microsoft continued to expand its position in the server market three years after the European Union fined the company a record €497 million.

"Microsoft is constantly gaining market share and that's what's worrying me in the work-group server operating system market," Kroes told a European Parliament committee in Brussels.

The European Commission, the EU antitrust authority, accuses the company of abusing the dominance of its Windows operating system, which runs almost 95 percent of the world's personal computers, to crush competition in related markets. Microsoft is appealing the EU's $664 million fine, and a judgment by the European Court of First Instance is expected by September.

$@

Galileo consortium gets stern warning

BRUSSELS: European Union governments told a consortium of eight companies responsible for building and running its new satellite navigation system to end the infighting that could put the €3.6 billion project at risk.

Transportation ministers set a May 10 deadline for the companies to resolve their "governance problems" for the Galileo project, set up a single entity and name a director to speak on their behalf to get the satellites built and in orbit.

The

project involves the French companies Thales and Alcatel-Lucent, Hispasat of Spain, Inmarsat of Britain, AENA and Finmeccanica of Italy, a German group led by Deutsche Telekom, and European Aeronautic Defense & Space. $@(AP)

The Federal Communications Commission said it would study the business practices of high-speed Internet providers and consider adopting U.S. regulations to ensure that all Web traffic was treated equally.

The study will focus on how Internet service providers are managing traffic on their networks and whether they are charging different prices for different speeds or levels of service. $@(AP)

THE CHAIRMAN

of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin, said that the agency was considering dropping a proposal that would have lifted the U.S. ban on in- flight cellphone use.

$@ (AP)

The Los Angeles Times editorial page editor, Andres Martinez, resigned over the newspaper's decision to cancel a special edition of its Sunday Current section. $@ (AP)

HITACHI of Japan said it would close a parts factory in Mexico and cut 4,500 jobs as it aims to cut costs and turn a profit on its hard-drive business next fiscal year. $@(Reuters)

NXP,one of the top semiconductor manufacturers in Europe, said it would cut about 950 jobs as the company prepared to close a German factory and move a production line in the Philippines. $@(Bloomberg)