MySpace launches in Japan through Softbank

News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch said on Monday he hoped to find partners to enter Asian markets for its MySpace.com Internet business and would discuss offering the world's most popular online community via cellphones with Japan's Softbank Corp.
The Nihon Keizai business daily reported earlier that News Corp. and Softbank planned to launch MySpace.com in Japan this month through a 50-50 venture, first offering services for personal computers and later allowing users to post photos and write blogs on mobile phones.
The report sent down shares in the biggest local player, Mixi Inc.

Murdoch, News Corp. chairman and chief executive, said "all sorts of things, like putting MySpace on mobile," will be up for discussion when he meets Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son. Murdoch was speaking on the sidelines of an international conference in Tokyo.

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Border Patrol 2.0

Texas has started broadcasting live images of the U.S. border on the Internet in a security program that asks the public to report signs of illegal immigration or drug crimes.
A test Web site went live Thursday at texasborderwatch.com with views from eight cameras and ways for viewers to e-mail reports of suspicious activity. Previously, the images had only been available to law enforcement and landowners where the cameras are located.
"There is only one way to test it, and that's open it up for business," said Texas Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw.

Some civil rights groups have criticized the "virtual border watch," saying it will instill fear in border communities and could lead to fraudulent crime reports and racial profiling.
The cameras will operate at hot spots for illegal activity, such as Amistad Reservoir in Del Rio and Falcon Lake in Zapata, and other active border areas such as highway rest stops and inspection stations, officials said. Information e-mailed by viewers goes to the state's operations center and local law enforcement in that area.

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