NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Rumors of the demise of ABC News’ pioneering Web newscast have been greatly exaggerated.

ABC News confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the 2-year-old Webcast is alive and well amid an overall revamp that includes the addition of a blog.

The 15-minute Webcast, with “World News” anchor Charles Gibson, is available live on ABCNews.com and via an iTunes podcast soon after it’s produced at 3 p.m. EDT weekdays. It differs from its rivals in that it’s produced specifically for the Web, three hours or so before the “World News” telecast.

It’s regularly one of the top video newscasts on iTunes, with about 600,000 daily downloads. But it has been difficult to determine how many people who download it actually watch, which has provided an advertising challenge. That led to reports this year that the news division would dump the webcast, something ABC News execs say was never even considered.

The network is pressing ahead, believing that it’s the right thing to do and finding a lot of value with the technology, which enables webcast viewers to watch the show front to back as well as to jump to the stories they’re most interested in.

“It’s really geared toward the digital audience that wants to be the ultimate decider of what order they watch it,” “World News” executive producer Jon Banner said.

On Monday (August 25), “World News” is unveiling a redesigned Web site that includes a “World Newser” blog, frequent contributions from senior staff and a daily contribution by Gibson.

“What it really is, is a one-stop shop for news fanatics about what’s happening right now in the country and the world,” Banner said. “It’s our view of things.”

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People Telecom inked a three-year agreement with Vodafone Australia for the supply of mobile voice and data services to become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).

People Telecom CEO John Stanton said the agreement provides the company with stronger operating margins and a platform to expand both mobile and data services.

“We have been successfully providing Blackberry services in collaboration with Vodafone for the past two years and we have seen significant customer demand for an expanded range of products delivered on the Vodafone network,” Stanton said.

The deal also allows People Telecom to broker its own wholesale agreements for Vodafone mobile services direct to ISPs and local “tier-three” carriers.

Vodafone Australia chief marketing officer John Casey said the terms of the agreement will allow People Telecom to deliver more value to personal and business customers.

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The telecommunications firm said the new service came into effect throughout the Caribbean on Friday, 15 August. Customers are now paying the same rate for outgoing calls as if the call was made in their home country, the firm said.

Cable & Wireless explained that customers calling back home to family and friends will be charged at a local rate; calls to other Cable & Wireless countries will be charged at the regular international calling rate. Customers will also enjoy free incoming calls when roaming.

Commenting on the launch of Home Rate Roaming, Richard Dodd, CEO of Cable & Wireless Caribbean said: “Our customers have been anticipating this news for a long time and we are very pleased that we can finally deliver.”

He added: “This will translate to unbeatable value, with associated savings for our Caribbean customers who have families and businesses spread throughout the region.”

Mr Dodd said the latest deal is part of redeveloping its Caribbean operations.

“Cable & Wireless’ objective is to take its place as a truly Caribbean company, therefore our technologies must benefit the people of the Caribbean in a seamless manner,” he said.

“In the coming months, this commitment to consistency and uniformity in products and services will be even more evident as we accelerate the rollout of our reengineered business across the Caribbean.”

This offering, the firm said, comes as one of the first initiatives from the new, single pan-Caribbean Cable & Wireless entity now taking shape, and signals its intention of delivering on its promise to offer a more consistent and uniformed suite of products and services to all customers across the region.

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According to Roger Hawke Crown Castle’s managing director, adding the towers to its existing portfolio allows Crown to further support its customers as Crown expands its wireless networks across Australia.

“This is one of the most significant tower purchases Crown Castle has undertaken in Australia since acquiring its platform of tower assets from Cable & Wireless Optus in 2000 and Vodafone in 2001. It increases Crown’s portfolio of assets by approximately 10 percent,” said Hawke.

Andy Reeves, chief technology officer at Vodafone Australia believes the sale is commercially prudent for Vodafone to outsource the ownership and management of the facilities.

“Vodafone will continue to utilise each transmission site under a leasing arrangement with Crown Castle, and use the proceeds of the sale to re-invest in its national mobile broadband network upgrade,” he said.

Crown Castle has bought approximately 200 towers and rooftop interests in Australia in the last 18 months, bringing its national asset portfolio to 1,600 communication sites.

Crown Castle deploys, owns and operates technologically advanced shared wireless infrastructure.

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Celebrating the diversity, history and culture of the nation, Brit Quiz is bursting with questions about local customs, traditional cuisine, myth and legend, and even dialects. There are also perplexing posers about Great Britons from the fields of sport, entertainment, politics and science. In the true British spirit, it’s all about fair play; thanks to a unique ranking system, players at http://www.Quizwinners.co.uk compete against opponents of their own skill level, so everyone has a fair chance of winning.

Made in the UK

A team of Great British eggheads has crafted thousands of questions ready for the Bank Holiday launch on August 25th. With so many questions, each user will have a different experience every time they play. Users play against the clock and have 10 seconds to answer each multiple-choice question. As well as playing against other online competitors, users can organise their very own Battle of Britain between friends, family or work colleagues. So, if this August Bank Holiday’s a washout, there’s plenty of Great British fun to be had online with the brand new Brit Quiz at http://www.Quizwinners.co.uk .

http://www.Quizwinners.co.uk also offers a range of other quizzes - Top Trivia Quiz, Showbiz Quiz, Football Quiz, Quiz for Her and the News Quiz - so there’s something for every type of quizzing mind.

About HIMES

HIMES has been a worldwide leader in its field since 2000, when they introduced Superquiz - the world’s first online quiz which gave players the chance to win real cash. Currently delivering online quizzes to the UK, the Netherlands and Germany, HIMES is gradually expanding across the globe, bringing their passion for quizzing to an ever-expanding international audience. HIMES is based at the Media Park in Hilversum, in the heart of the Dutch media world.

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Main point: “It appears that the best uses of this search engine are for searches where you know you will be trying a number of alternative words and phrases, and would appreciate the Standby box”

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The Zephyr aircraft, developed by defence firm QinetiQ with funding from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the US Department of Defense, flew at altitudes of up to 60,000 feet powered solely by the solar cells on its wings and a small Lithium battery.

Andrew Baird, director Defence Technology and Innovation Centre for the UK MoD said: “MOD is very pleased with the success of the recent trial which demonstrated the potential capability of the technologies in Zephyr. This success has also reinforced the close working relationship between the UK and US on these key technologies.”

The plane was originally developed to provide communications networks over battlefield areas but it is hoped that with longer flights it could be used to provide more permanent networking hubs for business and consumers over developing countries or in areas where natural disasters have cut existing data channels.

The plane is built of carbon fibre and has solar cells no thinker than paper covering its entire wingspan. It is hand launched and then either controlled remotely from the ground and by satellite relay.

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