Google is planning a venture-capital division, to be headed by David Drummond, company SVP and chief legal officer.

The Church of Scientology has a new way to reach the masses - via YouTube.

Three of the biggest companies in the music industry will be providing content for web-newcomer PluggedIn, which offers high-definition music videos and concerts to be streamed online for free.

Sorry, John McCain. The McCain Girls were a joke.

The YouTube sensation, which featured three women of varying ages and questionable vocal skills, singing “It’s Raining McCain,” drew more than 1.7 million hits.

YouTube may finally have a real competitor.

Video-streaming newcomer Hulu, a joint effort between NBC Universal and Fox, opened to the public last week after a four-month trial period. It provides full-length TV episodes and movies to be viewed for free online.

Inspired by Barack Obama’s presidential run, a group of Hollywood stars has released a music video centered on his “Yes, we can” message.

An impressive 36 celebrities came together to help will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas create the 4 1/2-minute, black-and-white video. The project adds a melody to footage of Obama’s concession speech after the New Hampshire primary, with celebrities speaking or singing along with his words. It was directed by Bob Dylan’s son, Jesse.

Can Google maintain the company motto - “Don’t be evil” - while building a powerful lobbying machine?

That’s just one of the challenges facing the internet giant. Another is Microsoft, a competitor not only on the web, but in the courts and the halls of Congress.

What’s so funny about the 2008 presidential race?

Not much so far, unless you count Rudy Giuliani taking a cell phone call from his wife while he was giving a speech to members of the National Rifle Association, a moment that became a YouTube hit.

But, take heart; JibJab.com is back and making fun of the scary side of politics.

JibJab, you may remember, is the Internet humor site that produced the flash animation video, This Land is Your Land for the 2004 presidential race.

The video established the JibJab brand and significantly improved its fortunes.

The This Land video featured singing heads of George W. Bush and John Kerry dissing each other to the tune of the Woody Guthrie song.

Google, which last year purchased YouTube for a whopping $1.65 billion, has unveiled a plan to make money from the site.

Ads now appear at the bottom of some videos, eventually disappearing if the users don’t click on them. In an approach similar to Google’s AdSense program, selected content providers receive a portion of the revenues.