Art goes digital

The finest details, usually unnoticeable to the human eye, are being picked out of paintings in a new online museum in Google Earth, using the best of the web to enhance a typically offline experience.

The paintings being shown online are from the Prado museum in Madrid, and with the use of Google Earth technology, viewers can zoom in on the small, easily missed parts of some the most famous paintings from the gallery.

First interactive TV show for mobile phones

TV has just got more interactive with the launch of a new drama called Thmbnls created exclusively for mobile phones.

The shows, which will be broadcast on mobile networks, will allow viewers to use text messaging to send in their opinions and ultimately shape the course of the plot throughout the series, meaning viewers can personally interact with the characters and the issues they’re facing in a way that’s not been achieved before.

In our highly connected world, with an always-on work ethic, the New Millennial generation is starting to see these tools as providing a resource for their everyday entertainment.

Google Earth 5.0 – Oceans, Time-lapse, and Mars!

Google has launched a new version of Google Earth which allows users to explore the oceans, track historical changes over time, create their own earth-tours, and explore the planet Mars.

Google teamed up with scientists from National Geographic, the US Navy and several other oceanographic associations to create the new ocean function which allows users to explore an interactive 3D map of the ocean floor, complete with thousands of data points containing videos and images of ocean life.

Google Earth 5.0 also displays satellite images of locations over a specific expanse of time, from years to decades. For example, you can look back over the last decade and see the melting of the glaciers image by image.

Google Earth's new Touring application allows users to create a shareable, narrated, fly-through tour by using a record button.

Also announced was the 3D Mars application, which was created in conjunction with Nasa. Users can explore the red planet, read geo-located excerpts about different locations, or observe where various Mars Rovers and Landers have touched down.

MSN Mobile launches music download service

Microsoft has launched a music download service on MSN Mobile which allows users with internet-enabled phones to purchase and download music via their mobile.

The new service is available across all UK network operators and boasts a catalogue of up to one million tracks, 25,000 Realtones and 10,000 Music Videos from record labels such as Sony Music and Warner Music.

Users can purchase full tracks for £1.50 via the PayForIt billing framework; appearing on the user's monthly bill for post-pay contracts, or debited directly from pre-pay mobile plans.

Consumers enter www.msn.co.uk into their phone internet browser and select the music service from the menu, or alternatively text MSN to 63463 to recieve a link to the service.

Twitter used for global fundraising events

Continuing on the topic of Twitter, users around the world are using the micro-blogging website to organise special fundraising events, dubbed “Twestivals”, to raise money for charity.

The events, or "tweet-ups”, will be held on 12th February 2009 and will raise money to support charity: water, a not-for-profit agency aimed at bringing clean drinking water to people in developing nations.

The individual Twestivals are being organised by volunteers and 100% of the proceeds goes directly towards the charity.

The first Twestival was held in London in 2008, and social tweet-ups like this are a great way for people to meet the faces behind the avatars while raising money for a good cause. There are over 100 cities officially signed for the event across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

This years London Twestival has over 400 followers, and separate spill-over events are being planned for those unable to get a ticket.

Twitter users can go to the Twestival website to find an event in their city, and can also follow @twestival for regular updates.

Twitter traffic increases 974%

Traffic to Twitter has increased by 974% year on year, according to Hitwise UK.

The micro-blogging social network was ranked as the 291st most-visited website in the week ending 17 January 2009, while a year ago it ranked 2,953rd.

The amount of traffic Twitter sends to other websites has increased 30-fold over the last 12 months. Some 17.6% of traffic goes to entertainment websites, 14.6% to social networks, and nearly 10% to news and media websites. Just 6.6% of traffic goes to blogs and 4.5% to online retailers.

Twitter is one of the fastest growing sites in the UK and if anything, the service is even more popular than the numbers imply as Hitwise only measures traffic to the main Twitter site. If people access their Twitter accounts via mobile phones and third-party applications (such as Twitterrific, Twitterfeed and Tweetdeck), the numbers could be even higher!

Facebook blocks Burger King's Whooper Sacrifice campaign

Burger King has dropped its Whopper Sacrifice campaign on Facebook after the social networking site demanded it be altered, citing a violation of its privacy policy.

The promotion, which Burger King launched a few weeks back, rewarded Facebook users with a free Whopper coupon if they dumped 10 Facebook friends.

A total of 233,906 Facebook users found themselves "de-friended" in the name of a Whooper before Facebook requested the application by changed. Usually when a friend is removed on Facebook, no announcement is made, however the Whopper Sacrifice application created an update to inform the deleted friend that they had been "sacrificed for a free Whopper".

Facebook objected to the de-friending notification on the grounds that it would disrupt users' privacy expectations.

Facebook stated that although they encourage creativity from brands and developers they had to ensure that applications follow users' expectations of privacy, and that this application facilitated activity that ran counter to user privacy by notifying people when a user removes a friend.

Facebook did approach Burger King with some suggested solutions, but Burger King decided to pull the campaign rather than continue the application with restrictions.

The Whopper Sacrifice website now reads: "Whopper Sacrifice has been sacrificed."