Following various Net reports doing the rounds this week regarding the official unveiling of Nokia’s new Internet service, the Finnish mobile phone giant duly delivered yesterday by whipping the covers off Ovi, the company’s new Internet brand name.

Wednesday’s introduction of the multi-faceted Ovi (‘door’ in Finnish) marks a significant move by Nokia to expand its market reach from mobile devices through to a wide range of Internet-based services. Nokia claims that Ovi will enable its customers to conveniently access their "existing social network, communities and content, as well as acting as a gateway to Nokia services."

Included in the Ovi services package are also the new Nokia Music Store, which will bypass usual network operator delivery, and also the revamped and re-launched N-Gage gaming platform, both of which Nokia says will allow for the easy assessment and purchase of music and games "from a blockbuster range of artists and publishers." Ovi also includes Nokia Maps, which delivers a navigation service, maps, city guides, and more through compatible Nokia mobile devices.

As expected, Ovi was officially announced by Nokia’s President and CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, at yesterday’s Nokia Go Play event in London, during which Mr. Kallavuo outlined that:

"The industry is converging towards Internet driven experiences and Ovi represents Nokia's vision in combining the Internet and mobility. Nokia is the number one mobile device company in the world. Looking into the future, we will deliver great devices, combined with compelling experiences and services, to make it easy for people to unlock the potential of the Internet.

"We started this journey with our navigation services earlier this year and we are now combining all our services into a single branded offering - Ovi by Nokia. Over the coming 12 months, you will see us integrate new user interface elements, service suites and web communities to Ovi."

Looking a little more closely at the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage platforms reveals that the former will offer "millions of tracks from major artists" as well as independent labels and a broad range of local artists from around the world. Accessible via PC or through a Nokia handset such as the new Nokia N81 or Nokia N95 smartphone multimedia computer, users will be able to browse, buy (single tracks or complete albums), create mobile playlists, and add tracks to wish lists for later retrieval.

The store will open across key Europe regions during Q3, with other EU territories and Asia due to arrive in the months following the initial roll out. Tracks will cost from €1,00 while albums will be priced from €10,00. A monthly subscription fee of €10,00 is also included for PC streaming. While those ‘starting’ prices are not quite as strong as the ‘standard’ prices found on the likes of iTunes, it remains to be seen whether DRM copy protection is missing as a core component of Nokia’s Music Store content, which could help make the slightly higher price more attractive.

Similarly, the re-imagined N-Gage service will allow users to purchase quality videogames directly through their Nokia device. They will also be able to connect with friends, read game reviews, download demos of specific games, and preview available releases. Videogame creators such as Electronic Arts and Gameloft are already bringing some of their most prominent gaming brands through to the N-Gage, which is expected to make its official appearance in November of 2007.

Beyond the specific services on offer through the Nokia Music Store, N-Gage, Nokia Maps, and others yet to arrive, Ovi also allows its users to open the door to Web-based communities, content, and contacts all from a compatible Nokia mobile device or a PC system. Ovi is currently scheduled for its official launch (in English) in Q4 of 2007, with additional content features and further language interfaces expected to arrive before the close of Q2 2008.

They view his case as a prime example of hypocrisy -- a man who furtively engaged in same-sex liaisons while consistently opposing gay-rights measures as a politician.

" He may very well not think of himself as being gay, and these are just urges that he has," said Matt Foreman of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. " It's the tragedy of homophobia. People create these walls that separate themselves from who they really are."

The activist, Mike Rogers, went public last October with allegations that Craig engaged in sexual encounters with at least three men, including one who said he had sex with Craig twice at Washington's Union Station.

The Idaho Statesman went even further back into Craig's life, talking to other men who claimed they were solicited by him.

It also mentioned a scandal in 1982, in which a male page reported having sex with three congressmen, and Craig -- although not named by the youth -- issued a statement denying any wrongdoing.

Rogers noted that some politicians, when confronted with evidence about same-sex encounters, have acknowledged their homosexuality -- such as Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and the late Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.).

Others persist in denial, and Rogers contends they are fair game for exposure if they vote against gay-rights causes.

''I'd love for Larry Craig to come out and be honest with the people of Idaho and run as a Senate candidate and see if the Republican Party is the big tent they claim to be,'' Rogers said.

Craig's political support was eroding by the hour Wednesday as fellow Republicans in Congress called for him to resign and party leaders pushed him unceremoniously from senior posts.

The White House expressed disappointment, and Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) both joined calls for Craig to resign.

''My opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, you shouldn't serve. That's not a moral stand. That's not a holier-than-thou. It's just a factual situation," McCain said.

More than 68,000 pounds of bagged fresh spinach are being recalled by a Monterey County grower after routine testing found salmonella in a sample taken from a Watsonville packing plant.

There have been no reports of illness from the spinach, but state and federal health officials said they are working with Metz Fresh of King City to determine the source and scope of contamination.

The recall announced Wednesday comes almost exactly one year after a nationwide outbreak of illness was traced to a batch of bagged California spinach that was tainted with a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria.

Since then, produce growers and distributors say they have taken steps to improve sanitation and testing procedures.

The current recall involves a batch of spinach that was packed on Aug. 22 and distributed late last week to retail and food-service customers, such as restaurants or institutional kitchens, in the United States and Canada.

The salmonella was found during testing at a packing plant that was operating under contract with Metz Fresh, said Greg Larsen, a company spokesman.

In a statement, Metz Fresh said the salmonella was detected in a single sample of spinach at the processing plant. The company said it decided to recall spinach from three processing lines at the plant as a precaution, since all three lines were handling produce from the same field.

Company officials began contacting their customers, asking them not to serve or sell the spinach to consumers, after receiving a preliminary test result on Friday, Larsen said. As of Friday night, he added, "we had corralled and held 90 percent of the expanded lot in question."

The company decided to formally recall the product on Tuesday, after lab analysis confirmed the preliminary finding of salmonella.

Officials are still trying to determine whether any of the spinach was sold or served to consumers.

Salmonella can cause fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. It can be life-threatening to children, the elderly and adults with compromised immune systems.

The recall involves only fresh spinach packed under the Metz Fresh label, in packaging marked with tracking code 12208114, 12208214 or 12208314. The spinach was packed in 10- and 16-ounce bags, as well as 4- and 10-pound cartons.

Metz Fresh said consumers should discard the spinach or return it to their retailer for a refund. Consumers with questions can call (831) 386-1018.

"Words can't express how sorry I am for the harm I have caused to others, especially my family," Plotkin said.

Plotkin was charged in 2006 in a scheme that involved David Pajcin, another Goldman Sachs analyst, and Stanislav Shpigelman, who met Plotkin in college and worked as an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.'s mergers and acquisitions division.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Cantwell said the trio conspired on some of the most innovative and complicated insider-trading schemes since those of the 1980s.

In one instance, a New Jersey grand juror leaked information so Plotkin and Pajcin could learn details of an investigation of accounting fraud accusations against Bristol-Myers and several of its executives.

In a second plot, Pajcin and Plotkin arranged for a man to become a forklift operator at a printing plant so he could steal early copies of a market-moving column in BusinessWeek magazine.

Prosecutors say Shpigelman provided Plotkin and Pajcin with information on deals to give them an advantage in their trading.

In exchange for information on six different pending mergers or acquisitions, Shpigelman received cash and promises of future payments based on a percentage of profits, authorities said.

Although the charges carry a potential maximum prison term of 165 years, Plotkin signed a plea agreement in which he promised not to appeal any sentence between four years and nine months and five years and 11 months in prison.

Amgen's anemia franchise, which brought in $6.6 billion in sales last year, has been under siege due to safety concerns and a pullback in coverage by the U.S. agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid.

Tuesday's ruling was good news for Amgen, but Roche said there was still a long way to go in their dispute.

"While we disagree with the Judge on the matter of infringement, the ruling does not determine the ultimate validity of any Amgen patents," Roche said.

If approved, Roche's Mircera would compete with Amgen's blockbusters Epogen and Aranesp and Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Procrit.

The drugs belong to a class known as erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, which are used to boost red blood cells in anemia patients to help avoid the need for blood transfusions.

Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen has been fighting the Roche drug on several legal and regulatory fronts, alleging it infringes Amgen patents.

Roche has argued its drug is different, claiming Mircera is longer lasting than other available anemia drugs.

"We decided this was going to happen some time ago, and Labor Day seemed like a good time to do it," Lerach, 61, said in an interview. "I've worked a lifetime and a half and achieved what I wanted to achieve."

The famously mop-haired attorney declined to comment on the investigation.

Lerach's previous firm, Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, was indicted in May 2006 by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. Prosecutors allege the firm secretly paid more than $11 million in kickbacks to get people to take part in shareholder lawsuits, allowing its lawyers to be among the first to file lawsuits on behalf of shareholders and secure the lucrative position as lead plaintiffs' counsel.

The firm now known as Milberg Weiss and a former partner, Stephen Schulman, have pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges and are scheduled to be tried in January 2008.

Another former partner, David Bershad, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in July and will be sentenced early next year. Former physician Steven G. Cooperman also pleaded to a federal conspiracy charge for his role in the alleged kickback scheme.

Lerach has not been charged.