Times online starts charging

One of Britain's most famous newspapers, The Times, started charging readers to access its Web site on Friday, the first non-specialist daily in the UK to do so, reports the AFP.

It will now cost one pound for a daily subscription or two pounds for a weekly one to The Times or sister publication The Sunday Times, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Last August, Murdoch announced plans to charge for all his firm's news Web sites.

With newspaper sales around the world in decline and advertising increasingly moving online, owners have been searching for profitable business models for struggling newspapers, many of which have been forced to close in recent years.

Given their impact on consumer's spending behaviour, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are emerging as one of the most powerful business tools, revealed a recent study done by online researcher Nielsen, states Silicon India.

According to the study by Nielsen, of the seven biggest brands online globally, three are social media networking sites. It includes Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube.

Charles Buchwalter, chairman and chief executive of Nielsen Online Japan, said: "Social media is having a larger and larger influence on purchasing decisions. Everyone understands that social media is hot, it's growing quickly and in very unpredictable ways everywhere in the world."

Internet search giant Google is set to delve into the travel market after signing a $700 million deal to buy a major online ticket reservations company, according to the Daily Mail.

San Francisco-based Google is set to acquire technology company ITA in a move which will see the search giant play a key role in how airline reservations are booked on the Web.

If the deal is approved by authorities it could put Google in direct competition with many other flight comparison services such as Opodo, Expedia and TripAdvisor