Google to launch Facebook rival ???

Now this is some interesting news coming in. Google and Facebook who dominate two different sectors of the World Wide Web might just compete on the same space if we are to believe a fresh new rumor.

Apparently, Google is planning a major entry into the social networking space with a new service that will be known as Google "Me". So far, the two had been competing in the "most visited websites" category in U.S. In March 2010, Facebook became the first website to outdo Google in terms of the number of visitors. On the global front though, Facebook has still someway to go to compete with Google at least on the "most visited" parameter.


However, it would not be completely correct to say that Google has not been in the social networking sphere. In fact, Google's own Orkut still happens to be the most used social networking website in countries like Brazil and India - although it has of late lost some sheen. Earlier this year, Google launched its "Buzz" service which was mired in privacy issues and didn't actually get to a flying start.

This latest rumour regarding Google Me was first revealed by Digg founder Kevin Rose who tweeted : "Ok, umm, huge rumor: Google to launch Facebook competitor very soon "Google Me", very credible source."

Interestingly, neither Kevin nor Google has said anything about this service after the tweet.

Thailand Lifts Ban on YouTube!

After nearly four months, the Thai government has lifted the ban on Google's YouTube as the management of the Web site has finally agreed to block all videos that violate the country's laws or are deemed offensive to the Thai people. The access to YouTube was blocked on April 4, after Google turned down Thailand's request to delete the 'insulting' 44-second 'offensive' video clip.
The video clip in question showed grainy pictures of Thailand's most revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, with a pair of shoes with soles pointed towards the king's face. The clip was considered a case of 'lese majeste' or insulting the monarchy, which in Thailand is a serious crime with offenders liable to punishment of up to 15 years of imprisonment. At the time, Google removed the original offensive content from YouTube. However more and more such 'mocking' videos continued to appear on the site, creating a brouhaha of sorts. Finally now, YouTube has agreed on blocking clips breaking Thai laws, including sweeping legislations prohibiting comments deemed as 'offensive' to the monarchy. Meanwhile, video clips banned in Thailand will continue to be available to Internet users in other parts of the world. Additionally, Thai government officials have created a program for blocking all sensitive video content from being accessed within the country.