1. Afternic Adds US.COM, EU.COM, Other CentralNic Domain Name Extensions to Site Afternic announced that it has begun listing domain name extensions of the global registry, CentralNic, some of which include US.COM, UK.COM, EU.COM and 17 other country-specific domains. In addition, CentralNic CEO, Dan Schindler commented that his firm is seeing an increased interest in the aftermarket.

2. Hacker Threatens to Take Down Olympics Computers A would-be hacker was being investigated by police Monday after threatening to attack the internal computer network of the Turin Olympics organizing committee. The man - a technical consultant for the TOROC committee - illicitly gained access to off-limits sections of the network, police officer Fabiola Silvestri said.

3. VeriSign, Inc. announced the launch of VeriSign® Identity Protection (VIP), a solution that will help provide identity protection for consumers who conduct business online. VIP is supported by several leading online companies, including PayPal, eBay and Yahoo!.

4. Internet portal Yahoo! signed a 10-year, $6.23 million deal to open a data center in Wenatchee, the company said Thursday. It will lease 45,000 square feet of space in the four-story Confluence Technology Center.

5. Google, Lenovo and Sun Microsystems have pledged their support for a new initiative aimed at fighting spyware, malware and deceptive adware. The Neighbourhood Watch-style campaign is being led by Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society in the US, and Oxford University's Oxford Internet Institute in the UK. The effort aims to provide clear and objective information about downloadable applications so that consumers can make informed choices about what they download onto their systems.