Messaging software firm Critical Path has launched AdDirector, a real-time targeted advertising platform as an addition to its Memova family of consumer messaging solutions for mobile operators and broadband ISPs.

AdDirector gives service providers a single point through which to add targeted advertising to their mobile and fixed-line messaging services as a way to generate new revenue. The service supports the delivery of targeted ads through a number of channels including portals, online and mobile e-mail, SMS and MMS and even set-top boxes.

iPhone and iPod touch owners now have their very own version of Google Talk. The new application, available at www.google.com/talk, is browser-based, so chatters just need to point their browsers to the site, sign in and type away.

However, users do need to have the Google Talk app open in the phone's Safari browser to receive instant messages, Pocket-lint reports.

MySpace Russia has partnered with Russian mobile operator MTS to provide direct access to the social network's mobile site from the MTS mobile homepage. The duo also intends to put an MTS-branded community on the MySpace Russia site "to drive usage and support the partnership," Cellular-news reports.

The deal is a "key strategic move for MySpace, allowing us to give Russian customers unprecedented access to networking via their mobile phones," MySpace Russia general director Alekxandr Turkot said of the partnership.

To promote its new soccer boot in Hong Kong, Nike isn't settling for any old mobile ad campaign. Instead, the athletic shoemaker is using 3D technology in a campaign created by The Hyperfactory and ad agency McCann Erickson.

"The aim for Nike was launching the new boot and letting people see its features from every angle," said Geoffrey Handley, co-founder and head of business development for Asia-Pacific at the Hyperfactory told Mobile Marketer. "Hong Kong is footwear-crazy and the fact that this is happening around the time of the Olympics and Euro 2008 Tournament means everyone is in sports mode."

The campaign is truly interactive; consumers need to search for hidden codes throughout Hong Kong. Pointing their phones at the codes will bring up a picture of the T90 and a soccer ball, and a link to download software that will let them see the shoe in 3D, Mobile Marketer reports.

Additionally, each ad will invite consumers to text in a code to find the next location in the series. The texts will also enter the user into a sweepstakes to win Nike gear.

T-Mobile USA has asked the Federal Communications Commission to extend up to three months the public comment cycle for a controversial free wireless Internet plan, RCR Wireless News reports. The request would give the company additional time for interference testing, and probably delay a final decision until after the fall presidential and congressional elections.

"T-Mobile USA, which spent $4.2 billion on 120 licenses in the AWS-1 [spectrum] auction two years ago, remains concerned that AWS-3 operations could cause interference to spectrum the carrier hopes will provide it with sufficient capacity to provide 3G wireless services and thereby remain competitive with AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp," the article said.

T-Mobile is just launching their high-speed 3G network now, after spending several years as the lone major wireless carrier in the states without one.

Ah, the wild land of ringtones. MocoNews is reporting that Atrinsic, the mobile and online applications and content company known as New Motion, has bought out the assets of Ringtone.com, a mobile content download site. The report continued by saying, "more importantly, the company bought an attractive domain name."

The deal is worth $6.25 million. The report said that the company expects to materially reduce its annual customer acquisition budget as a result of this acquisition. "Ringtone.com will move from solely a subscription based model into a more flexible and robust business model with multiple revenue streams, including an ad-supported model."

TechCrunch writes that Europe is a hotbed of mobile startups right now—even if we haven't heard of many of them over here in the sates.

"Appropriately enough, the Mobile 2.0 event which started in San Francisco is putting on a one-day international event tomorrow in Barcelona which focuses on mobile startups, dubbed Mobile 2.0 Europe."

TechCrunch blogger Mike Butcher is moderating a panel at the conference; the panel will consist of companies working with mobile proximity networking and Bluetooth sensing technologies, Android developers, a mobile social media network, and location-based discovery developers.

Some of this is clearly where mobile app development is heading, and should help to vault us past the overload of me-too social networking companies we've seen in the mobile space here in the U.S.

Skype has named Scott Durchslag COO, according to MediaPost, who will bring 20 years of experience to the position—including stints with The Chasm Group, Grand Central and McKinsey & Company.

Most recently, and more significantly, Durchslag served as Motorola's corporate vice president of Global Product & Experience Invention. The report said that Durchslag spent five years with the consumer electronics giant, taking on roles such as general manager of South Asia and Chief Strategy Officer of the personal communications sector.

As has been widely reported, Motorola is shedding high-level executives left, right, and sideways, so it's interesting to see one of them take a position at a VoIP company (and one that's wholly owned by eBay).

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the Bush administration in federal court, RCR Wireless News reports, in order to obtain records on allegedly unchecked cellphone tracking by the government.

"This is a critical opportunity to shed much-needed light on possibly unconstitutional government surveillance techniques," said Catherine Crump, staff attorney with the ACLU and lead attorney on the case, in the article. "Signing up for cellphone services should not be synonymous with signing up to be spied on and tracked by the government."

This all began after media reports surfaced about government officials using citizens' cellphones to zero in on their locations and monitor their movements—sometimes without a warrant or any court oversight, the report said.

(Image credit: Clipart.com)

Mobile consumers in Russia now have access to more than 800 free mobile games thanks to a partnership between Russian mobile content portal Telefoner.ru and ad-wrapped game distributor Greystripe.

Telefoner launched in December as the first Russian social network geared towards sharing user-generated mobile content.

Greystripe co-founder CEO Michael Chang sees Russia as an important market for his company because it's receptive to "high-quality, ad-supported mobile content." Chang added that Telefoner is a perfect partner for Greystripe because "ad-supported games are a natural addition to mobile social networks."

Open mobile computing platform developer Openmoko has unveiled a new mobile device that it claims will "help to enable ubiquitous computing for the 21st century."

The $399 Openmoko Neo FreeRunner phone features a 2.8-inch touch-screen, Wi-Fi, motion sensors and Bluetooth. It comes with core software for dialing, SMS and recording contacts.

Openmoko intends to periodically add features, starting next month with a software suite that takes advantage of the phone's hardware platform to provide new location-based applications. Two versions of the phone will be available, 850 MHz or 900 MHz Tri-band GSM, to match frequencies in different countries.

What makes this more than just another new phone announcement is the Openmoko platform, which lets developers in the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community create unique versions of the FreeRunner phone, modifying not only the way the phone works, but also how it looks. CAD files are publicly available for designers wanting to tailor the FreeRunner's look and feel.

The phone will be available in the EU, North America and India.

Ooh, this one must have hurt. Orbitz Worldwide said on Tuesday its Orbitz.com and ebookers.com websites have replaced Expedia as the travel agencies for Microsoft Corp's Internet arm MSN.com in the United States and the United Kingdom, Reuters reports. That's despite the fact that Microsoft started Expedia back in 1995.

The report said that Orbitz expects the change to bring an additional 3.5 million unique visitors per month via MSN's Travel portal. A Microsoft spokesman said the "company decided to switch to Orbitz because it preferred the travel site's features and customer service. 'Our customers are looking for innovative and differentiating experiences in travel,'" the spokesman said in the article.

Silicon Alley Insider is reporting that while at a meeting with about a dozen senior members of AOL's staff yesterday, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes left at least one member of management with the impression that the company is for sale, a source close to the company said:

"Another person who attended the same meeting says Jeff did not say specifically that the company is for sale but merely said that 'everyone is talking to everyone' and that AOL might someday be sold (i.e., that nothing has really changed)."

The report said that regardless of what Bewkes said, a rapid sale wouldn't be surprising given the reports of Yahoo-AOL and Microsoft-AOL talks in recent weeks.

Nokia announced that it has signed a deal with Telenor, the Norwegian carrier, regarding the company's Ovi Internet services and media platform. According to MocoNews, as part of the deal, Telenor will give its customers in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Hungary access to Ovi, while Nokia will provide Telenor with customized phones to give easier access to Nokia Maps, N-Gage and Telenor Music Store and Mobile TV.

The report said that this follows in the footsteps of a deal that Nokia struck with T-Mobile back in May, along with a Vodafone handset deal last November. Nokia is building out its mobile media services both with Ovi and specifically with Comes With Music, as the company looks to broaden its portfolio beyond straight handset production.

Starz Media has tapped mobile media publisher Player X to develop mobile video snippets that expand on the Hellboy franchise.

To pump up interest in the live-action Hellboy II: The Golden Army flick that's hitting theaters next week, Player X is charged with creating video clips based on past animated Hellboy movies Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron, Fierce Mobile Content reports.

Player X has licensing rights to sell the mobile clips through its on- and off-deck distribution networks everywhere it operates except for Asia.

Verizon Wireless customers already have access to the content. The companies didn't say when it will go live elsewhere.