Andrew Kellett branded 'dumbest criminal'

YouTube has pulled the plug on a user after he used the video sharing site to brag about his criminal exploits.

Andrew Kellett, 23, was banned from YouTube and given an interim ASBO by Leeds magistrates after posting more than 80 videos in which he appears to commit a range of offences.

The videos showed Kellett leaving a petrol station without paying, taking class A drugs and being driven in a speeding car at more than 140mph.

The clips also show other people setting off fireworks in a wheelie bin and in a microwave oven in the road.

Full story: vnunet.com 

Labels: UK, video, youtube

Site refuses to carry religious abortion ads

The Christian Institute, a UK charity, is taking legal action against Google after the search engine refused to take its advertisements.

Google bans adverts which link "abortion and religious-related content" but the charity, which opposes abortion, embryonic stem cell research and chemical contraception, is taking legal action to try and change the policy.

Colin Hart, director of The Christian Institute: said: "Google promotes itself as a company committed to the ideals of free speech and the free exchange of ideas. It is against this standard that Google's anti-religious policy is so unjust.”


Read more: vnunet.com 

Labels: ads, christian, lawsuit, UK

Queen delivers Christmas message online for the first time

YouTube is now playing host to "The Royal Channel", billed as the official channel of the British monarchy.

Introduced 50 years after Queen Elizabeth II's first television broadcast to her subjects, the channel showcases the Queen's Christmas messages past and present, and includes documentary footage about the monarchy.

"One of the features of growing old is a heightened awareness of change," said the Queen, now aged 81, in the 2007 Christmas message featured on the YouTube channel.

In her lifetime, the British monarchy has steadily adopted new technologies in an effort to reach a wider public.

Her grandfather, King George V, made his first Christmas radio broadcast to the nation in 1932.

The Queen introduced her 1957 Christmas message , recorded in black and white, by saying she hoped the technology would bring her closer to her subjects.

"I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct," she said then.

Full article: infoworld.com 

Labels: Christmas, Queen Elizabeth, UK, youtube

Two school pupils from Wales were runners-up in a UK-wide competition run by search engine Google to find new ideas for its famous logo.

Designs by Sioned Fflur Samuel, 15, from Barry and Gwyn Owen, 13, of Bangor were picked from 65,000 entries for the Doodle 4 Google shortlist.

Their logos were among 48 of the best entries picked for display on the Doodle 4 Google website.

The competition was won by 14-year-old Claire Rammelkamp from Bristol.

Read more: news.bbc.co.uk 

Labels: doodle, school, UK

LONDON EMI Music, Google and YouTube have established what the parties jointly described as a "milestone partnership" giving YouTube users access to audio and video content from the music giant.

Under terms of the new agreement, the U.K.-based EMI agreed to give YouTube users "unprecedented" access to authorized sound and video recordings from its roster, which includes David Bowie, Coldplay, The Decemberists, Fat Boy Slim, Gorillaz and Lily Allen, to name but a few.

Full article: adweek.com 

Labels: EMI, music, UK, video, youtube