E-commerce giants reach deal

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba plans to offer e-payment services on its new online commerce platform from eBay's PayPal, marking the first time the former rivals have synced up, reports TMCnet.

Alibaba.com says AliExpress, a new wholesale Web site, will offer customers the options of conducting transactions through PayPal.

The tie-up is the first for the former rivals, whose competition was greatest in China's online auction crowd.

Google is experimenting with a search results box that inserts major brands atop regular search results for product-related queries, states CNET News.

They're not ads, and they're not regular search results. Search Engine Land spotted the branded results, which CNET was able to reproduce for several queries including 'digital cameras', 'notebook PCs', 'cars', and 'mobile phones'.

In each case, the first line below the ads atop the search results page contains the text 'brands for mobile phones' and hyperlinks over a company's name to another search results page that combines the original search and the brand.

The company has unveiled the HP Download Store which will serve as a “virtual marketplace for consumers and small business owners”, according to Notebooks.com.

HP says it created the store to help customers find the right applications for their needs. It has released about 200 apps ready for purchase and download; including software titles that help with business productivity, finance and games.

One reason for the store is to help HP netbook customers, who will be able to buy and download software instead of going through the difficult process of installing CD or DVD software without an optical drive.