Dell's decision to ship Linux is a blow to Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, which makes the lion's share of its profits from Windows. Opensource projects make the computer code behind their software freely available, but can charge for support services. In contrast, groups such as Microsoft charge a license fee to use the computer code itself.

The best-known opensource product, Mozilla's Firefox internet browser, has been steadily chipping away at the lead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer and now accounts for as much as 25 per cent of the market in some territories.

However, Dell's move to Linux also signals a switch in tactics from the embattled computer maker as it strives to regain market share lost to Hewlett Packard, which has also offered Linux-powered computers.

In February, Michael Dell, the group's founder, resumed his position as chief executive of the company, replacing his protege Kevin Rollins. The move came amid criticism that Dell had concentrated too much on its famously efficient supply chain at the expense of customer service and listening to what consumers want.

The decision to return to Linux in response to consumer demand marks a u-turn for Dell, which first offered the opensource system in 1999 but withdrew it two years later, citing insufficient demand.

Dell has not given any pricing details on its Linux products, or how they would compare to Windows PCs.

Consumers who buy Linux machines from Dell will have the option to buy support services from Canonical, a company that has sponsored Ubuntu.

Yahoo! is expanding its online music section by adding lyrics of nearly 400,000 songs.

The company says that with this move, it is hoping to cater to Web surfers looking for a more reliable alternative to Internet sites that publish lyrics without express permission from copyright owners.

Yahoo! says the free service, being unveiled today, is the Web's largest legally licensed database of lyrics.

Apparently, song lyrics available on other Web sites break the law by posting words without approval from publishers and writers.

Yahoo! says by contrast, it is offering the song lyrics in a legal manner. Under the licensing agreement, Yahoo! will share with copyright holders, revenue from the ads that will be displayed alongside the lyrics.

Moreover, the 400,000 song lyrics included in the database of Yahoo! will cover about 9,000 different artists, ranging from golden oldies, 'The Beatles' and 'Bob Dylan' to contemporary song artists like 'Radiohead' and 'Beyonce'. Besides, the songs will come from around 100 music publishers including: BMG Music, EMI Music, Sony/ATV Music, Universal Music, and Warner/Chappell Music.

While other sites claim to have more songs than Yahoo!'s database, Yahoo! is confident its lyrics library will become a hit mainly because there are no pop-ups and other hindrances typically found in the sites that offer lyrics without permission from copyright holders.

In a related development, Yahoo! and Gracenote, a digital media company, have launched an online lyrics service in an effort to combat unauthorized, rogue Web sites.

Craig Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of Gracenote, said that publishers embraced his company's plan to create a lyrics database because they felt lyrics are an untapped resource at a time when consumers are increasingly getting them through various rogue sites.

Ian Rogers, General Manager of Yahoo! Music, said they think they can build a really healthy business for lyrics, and that publishers stand to gain significantly from this new revenue stream. With the popularity of lyrics on the Internet, advertisers want to be there too.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for us. We couldn't have dreamed of getting a better partner," Peter Parnes, one of the founders of Marratech, told TT.

Marratech, founded in 1998, makes software for electronic conferences.

Two defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully reproduce and distribute copyrighted music over the Internet, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg of the Eastern District of Virginia announced today.

Arthur Gomez, 25, of La Habra, Calif., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. His sentencing has been scheduled for July 13, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. Sergey Ribiakost, 21, of Bardonia, N.Y., pleaded guilty on April 17, 2007, before U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris. His sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2007, at 1:00 p.m. Both defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and face up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.

Gomez and Ribiakost were leading members in the illegal software, game, movie and music trade online, commonly referred to as the warez scene. The defendants were active members of the pre-release music group Apocalypse Crew (APC), one of a handful of organized online criminal groups that acted as “first-providers” of much of the pirated music available on the Internet.

As a pre-release music group, APC sought to acquire digital copies of songs and albums before their commercial release in the United States. The supply of such pre-release music was often provided by music industry insiders, such as radio DJs, employees of music magazine publishers, or workers at compact disc manufacturing plants, who frequently receive advance copies of songs prior to their commercial release. Once a group prepared a stolen work for distribution, the material is distributed in minutes to secure computer servers throughout the world. From there, within a matter of hours, the pirated works are distributed globally, filtering down to peer-to-peer and other public file-sharing networks accessible to anyone with Internet access.

Ribiakost and Gomez represent the 46th and 47th convictions resulting from Operation FastLink, an ongoing federal crackdown against the organized piracy groups responsible for most of the first stage of illegal distribution of copyrighted movies, software, games and music on the Internet. Operation FastLink has resulted, to date, in more than 120 search warrants executed in 12 countries; the confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs; and the removal of more than 50 million dollars worth of illegally copied software, games, movies and music from illicit distribution channels. Operation FastLink is the culmination of multiple FBI undercover investigations, including an investigation into online pre-release music groups led by FBI agents from the Washington field office.

In the past five years, beginning with Operation Buccaneer in 2001, Operation FastLink in 2004, and Operation Site Down in 2005, the Department’s prosecutions of top piracy organizations have resulted in more than 100 felony convictions in the U.S. for copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit copyright infringement.

This case was prosecuted by Jay V. Prabhu, trial attorney for the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and its member companies assisted and cooperated with the FBI’s investigation in this case.

The MySpace News service scouts the Internet for news ranging from gossip in online journals known as blogs to stories from media conglomerates such as News Corporation, the Rupert Murdoch headed company that owns MySpace.

Placement of items on MySpace News web pages will be dictated by feedback from members, who get to rank stories on a scaled of "loved it to hated it," according to the firm.

"MySpace News is designed to let users decide what's most relevant to them," said MySpace president Tom Anderson.

"We're putting it to the community to be the editorial engine driving our news service."

MySpace News uses a search algorithm to scan websites and blogs as well as online newspapers and magazines. Items are organized into categories such as politics, sports, technology and style.

"iPod has helped millions of people around the world rekindle their passion for music, and we're thrilled to be a part of that," Apple's CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement.

Apple's iTunes online music store has sold more than 2.5 billion songs, 50 million television shows and more than 1.3 million movies.

However, the must-have portable device will face another rival on the market with flash memory maker SanDisk announcing on Monday the launch of the Wi-Fi-enabled Sansa Connect, which offers computer-free connection to Yahoo music and download services.

Users of the Sansa Connect device will be able to use a Wi-Fi wireless connection to listen to LAUNCHcast Internet radio, browse Flickr photos and see what Yahoo Messenger friends and other Sansa Connect owners nearby are listening to. LAUNCHcast and Flickr are both part of the Yahoo network.

But analysts doubt the new gadget will be able to steal much share from the dominant iPod. Numerous companies, including giants like Sony and Microsoft, have tried but so far failed to challenge the device.