Reuters - The Internet is replacing the high street as the shopping destination of choice in the Asia Pacific, with a new survey showing a majority of Internet users prefer to go online to buy everything from electronics to holidays.

AFP - The EU launches Thursday its Europeana digital library, an online digest of Europe's cultural heritage that aims to draw together millions of books and other items.

AFP - A Hong Kong man has been jailed for eight years in China for running the nation's biggest online gambling racket which hauled in more than 1.25 billion dollars in bets, according to state media.

Reuters - A Missouri woman established a fake identity online to torment a vulnerable teenage girl who later committed suicide, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday in a trial that is being closely watched by the burgeoning social networking industry.

Reuters - Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and Guns N' Roses released their biggest hits on vinyl records and compact discs, but on Thursday, their new albums will debut online on MySpace.

AP - Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc., CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday, though he told shareholders that the company would still be "very open" to a collaboration on Internet search. His comments sent Yahoo shares diving more than 20 percent.

AFP - Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday ruled out making another takeover bid for Yahoo but said the US software giant remains open to a partnership on Internet search.