Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group hope it is. The three label giants have formed a joint venture with the Internet behemoth to weave their vast catalogs of tunes into the fabric of MySpace's thriving online community of music enthusiasts.

MySpace co-founder and CEO Chris DeWolfe called the deal to create MySpace Music "a historic step" for the music biz in its long struggle to come to grips with the digital era. MySpace Music will be jointly owned by the four partners and have a dedicated management team that will report to DeWolfe and a board composed of reps from Sony BMG, UMG and WMG.

"This is the first time the music companies have gotten together and said, 'We're going to do something really different,'" DeWolfe said. "We believe that this is really a historic step in the music industry redefining itself, both with the partnership and the product (to come). There's no other product on the Internet that looks anything like this."

The partnership will extend beyond making music available for sale online, as Apple has done with its iTunes Music Store. The MySpace Music venture envisions making music and related content -- from concert tickets to T-shirts and other merchandise -- easily accessible to MySpace's 110 million users through its dedicated music and voluminous artist profile pages, which draw about 30 million unique users a month.

Thursday's announcement was long on vision and short on specifics. The partners would not comment on the ownership structure of MySpace Music or how revenues would be shared among the partners. DeWolfe emphasized that the venture's business plan was developed "collaboratively" so that "both MySpace and the labels will make money."

On Being an Outcast:

"I felt very much like an outcast when I was younger. No matter where I went, there was always this sense of not really falling into place or into one category. I moved around a lot when I was growing up, so nobody knew me and I was never one thing or the other. Being biracial, I didn't really have somebody to look at and say, 'Okay, this person is exactly the same as me, and they're out there.' A lot of kids have said that to me, 'Until you put your first record out, I didn't feel like there was anybody that was the same as me.' People who don't feel like they fit in can identify with me. I promised myself when I was a little girl that I would never forget what it felt like to be a kid. I never wanted to grow up and be out of touch with what that feels like."

On Her "Breakdown":

"How do you climb back from the shambles when everybody counts you out? That can be a very difficult thing to come to terms with, especially when you've had so much success from such an early age. I have such faith in God that I really had to surrender everything and just know that I was going to be okay. That's truly where I had to go to when it felt like the bottom. More than anything, it was learning to grow up and take care of myself. Not treat myself like the corporation wanted to treat me, but treat myself like a human being. I've faced my worst fears and come out of them okay. Everything is always going to be all right as long as I hang on to the person inside of me."

Slowly, inexorably, Christmas music worked its way back into the pop landscape until it finally reached a pervasive saturation unmatched since its heyday of '50s holidays with Coca-Cola magazine advertisements, specially decorated cartons of cigarettes and Perry Como TV specials. Even before Thanksgiving, stores and malls are now filled with twinkly, tinkly versions of "Winter Wonderland" and "Sleigh Ride." Father Guido Sarducci suggests an every-other-year moratorium on playing "Little Drummer Boy."

"I'm still sick of it from last year," he says on his protest Christmas record, "One Hundred Bulbs on the Christmas Tree Party."

A amazing parade of willing doofuses provides a steady stream of new Christmas records, without a trace of irony, wit or redemptive attribute of any sort - pure cashing in. Do you think there is any other possible explanation for a two-CD set of Christmas songs by Toby Keith?

**

Nobody makes a Christmas album unless they already have a following. It is seen as a way to extend the brand. Sooner or later, everybody who lasts long enough in the record business makes a Christmas record: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Elton John, the Kinks, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Jimi Hendrix, Linda Ronstadt. Even hip, edgy rock acts you might think would be immune: R.E.M., the Pretenders, U2, the Ramones, Rufus Wainwright.

Experts at LifeGem HQ in Chicago then burned the hair without oxygen to ensure it did not disintegrate.

They extracted 130 milligrammes of carbon from 10 strands and divided it into three separate diamond presses.

Each of the presses was exposed to temperatures of 3,000 degrees celsius and placed under one million pounds of pressure for a two week growing period.

Once ready, the stones were cut into Round Brilliant Diamonds, polished and then certified.

The iPod Nano is now wider and comes in cool colors (pictured above). The 8GB Nano will cost $199 and the 4GB will retail for $149.

The old, full-sized iPods will now be called iPod Classics and now have 160GB of storage.

The new Apple iPod Touch media player looks a lot like the iPhone. Essentially it's an iPhone without the phone. The 8GB model is $299 and the 16GB retails for $399. (not pictured). The iPod Touch has the ability to connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi wireless technology, and a mini Web browser that can view YouTube videos and search Google and Yahoo.

The iPhone's price will drop by $200 . The 8GB version now costs $399.

Ringtones for the iPhone are available at iTunes.com for 99 cents.

Apple cut a deal with Starbucks: when customers show up at Starbucks with a laptop running iTunes or an iPhone, the devices will automatically recognize the store's Wi-Fi connection so you can buy more things from iTunes.

Mobile phone users are downloading data at increasing rates with Verizon Wireless attracting the highest level of interest, according to a report released Tuesday by IDC.

In all, the 230 million wireless subscribers in the United States bought a total of $4.1 billion in data services in the third quarter of 2006.

"Our research found that at $7.27 spent per-customer on data services in 3Q06, Verizon Wireless became the new market leader among the national operators, eclipsing Sprint Nextel, the long-time leader in this metric at $7.15," said IDC's Julien Blin. The two leading firms employ CDMA technology.

Blin, who is research analyst for IDC's Wireless and Mobile Communications program, said Verizon leads in total wireless data revenue, data percentage of average revenue per user (ARPU), and data spending. However, Sprint and other national carriers pace the market in some selected service offerings.

Now eBayers are getting excited about Syd all over again, as a bunch of his posessions are being sold off on the site by his estate. They include this artificial Christmas tree, which was found in his upstairs back bedroom, and is still festooned with tinsel and baubles. Its starting price is £100. 77 items are being sold in total: you can find the full details here.

"iPod lovers come in every shade and color under the sun and with millions of tastes and preferences," said Scott Huskinson, president and CEO of ifrogz. "There's absolutely no reason why the look of their iPods shouldn't be as unique and customizable as their playlists. Most case makers give us only a few basic colors to choose from. ifrogz sees things differently."

Whereas many silicone iPod cases are flimsy, gummy and collect lint, ifrogz uses only 100 percent high-grade, polished silicone that has been specially treated to resist dust and dirt. This makes the case smooth and silky to the touch, in addition to being thick and durable.

ifrogz cases also differ from every other iPod case on the market by providing three distinct components for total protection -- and complete color customization -- of your iPod: Wrapz(TM), Bandz(TM) and Screenz(TM). Wrapz, the main case component of the ifrogz system, cover the entire player from top to bottom and expose only the screen (which is covered by a clear plastic protector), scroll wheel, headphone jack and other ports.

The thick, durable Bandz then stretch completely around the sides of the iPod, thus protecting exposed ports and adding a bonus element of style. Bandz feature only a single opening over the iPod's headphone jack for optimum protection of the device's connection ports. Screenz, the final -- and most customizable -- element of the ifrogz system, are protective sheets of transparent plastic that lay over the player's Click Wheel. With more than 200 unique Screenz, used in tandem with the 38 colors of both Wrapz and Bandz to result in 300,000 possible combinations, it's highly unlikely your ifrogz case could ever be mistaken for someone else's.

Multi-platinum rapper Eminem has designed limited-edition uppers of eight different shoes in the Air Max series; from the Air Max ’87 (originally designed by Tinker Hatfield, one of the world’s foremost footwear designers), all the way up to the most recent Air Max 360. His reinterpretation of the upper has been laid onto the original blueprints for each of the Air Max shoes to create a unique set of shoe designs. An ardent fan of the Air Max and avid collector of sneakers, Eminem jumped at the chance to imprint his own personal touch on the world of sneaker collectors and raise funds for disadvantaged youths, both in his home state of Michigan and around the world in refugee camps.

A modern take on vintage jazz, soul and blues from the 1920s, '30s and '40s, the album is wildly inventive with a throwback style creating a sound that's gritty and raw. "Back To Basics" reunites her with producer Linda Perry as well as creating new collaborations with producers such as DJ Premier.

The sexy upbeat first single, "Ain't No Other Man," produced by DJ Premier and Charles Roane, is set for release on June 12th. It will be world-premiered on the MTV Movie Awards on June 8th.

"This is a concept album that follows a bold, set vision," stated Aguilera. "The touchstones are Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald... what I used to call my 'fun music' when I was a little girl."

"Back To Basics" utilizes an orchestra, choir, string quartet and jazz horns, as well as techniques that offer a vintage sound and sensibility. "I Got Trouble" incorporates a scratchy blues feel, while "Candy Man" recalls the tight harmonies of all-girl groups from the '30s and '40s, "Save Me From Myself" is an emotionally naked, raw-sounding song dedicated to her husband. "Thank You," dedicated to her fans, features DJ Premier splicing bits of "Genie In A Bottle" with fan voicemail messages. Also sure to appeal to Aguilera fans is the risque song "Nasty Naughty Boy" (which has a '20s burlesque feel) and the sassy club track "Still Dirrty."

The company says the device will store 100 songs with a six-hour battery life. A USB port on the lateral side of the shoe allows downloading of music and re-charging of the battery. The wireless headset works via Bluetooth, and picks up music from the shoes as far away as 30 feet.