Google has purchased Next New Networks this week, the producer of viral video programming.

The financials of the deal were not disclosed.

Since its launch in 2007, Next New Networks' videos have collected 2 billion views and 6 million subscribers.

Says Google (via DMW):

Within YouTube, Next New Networks will be a laboratory for experimentation and innovation with the team working in a hands on way with a wide variety of content partners and emerging talent to help them succeed on YouTube.

NNN has raised over $27 million in funding, so far.

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American divorce lawyers and academics have stated this week that Facebook is now cited in 65 percent of all divorces in the United States, despite divorce levels remaining relatively stable in the fast few years.

Says Dr. Steven Kimmons, a clinical psychologist and marriage counsellor at Loyola University Medical Centre near Chicago (via Guardian):

We're coming across it more and more. One spouse connects online with someone they knew from school. The person is emotionally available and they start communicating through Facebook.

A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) showed a huge jump in divorce cases citing social networking sites, with Facebook at the top at 65 percent, followed by MySpace at 14 percent and Twitter at 5 percent.

The sites weren't only used to show off evidence of infidelity but also used in custody cases, where spouses could point out pictures of drug and alcohol use by their husband/wife.

Facebook has 600 million users worldwide.

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Opera, the company behind popular desktop and mobile browsers, has launched the Opera Mobile Store, now available in over 200 countries.

The store is available at mobilestore.opera.com or as a 'Speed Dial' link for users of Opera Mini or Opera Mobile on their phones.

Opera says there are over 100 million Opera Mini/Mobile users around the world.

Appia, a marketplace technology company, is delivering the app store, which has applications for Java, Symbian, BlackBerry and Android operating systems.

Says Oepra:

The launch of the Opera Mobile Store supports Opera's core belief in an open, cross-platform mobile Internet experience by providing Opera users with an integrated storefront of mobile applications. Our partnership with Appia delivers to all Opera Mobile and Opera Mini users easy access to a wide variety of great content, on any device, all over the world.

In beta form, Opera says the Store attracted 700,000 downloads per day.

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Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft will end up paying Nokia over $1 billion for the recent Windows Phone 7 deal, through development and promotional costs.

"Nokia will pay Microsoft a fee for each copy of Windows used in its phones, costs that will be offset as Nokia curtails its own budget for software research and development," says one of the sources even though the full agreement has not been signed yet.

The deal will last for "over 5 years."

Most analysts have called the deal a winner for Microsoft, who will gain a huge platform boost for a relatively insignificant amount of money. Nokia, on the other hand, has seen their shares fall 25 percent since the announcement, as investors doubt the move will help fix Nokia's faltering market share.

Additionally, margins at Nokia have fallen to just 5 percent in 2010 from 19 percent in 2001.

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Spotify has announced today that they have reached their first major milestone, one million paying customers.

Says the streaming music company:

It seems like only yesterday we were hatching ideas for a new music service in a tiny office-cum-apartment with a broken coffee machine, and the party we threw having reached one million users almost two years ago today was one to remember.

So it's with a sense of real pride and excitement that we can announce a new milestone today, having welcomed our millionth paying subscriber to the service. It's a testament to our fantastic users who continue to support us and spread the Spotify word, either by telling friends or sharing some of the 200 million playlists that you've put together so far.

From everyone at Spotify, we'd like to give you all massive thanks. We'll continue to focus on providing you with the best music service possible, and look forward to adding even more cool new features over the coming months. What's really exciting is that this is only the beginning.

Overall, the company has 7 million active users and over 10 million registered users.

Spotify is aiming for a U.S. launch soon, and has reportedly signed deals with EMI and Sony Music. The service is allegedly close to signing a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, the largest label in the world.

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Warner Bros. has said this morning that it will begin renting digital copies of films via Facebook, the first studio to do so.

Starting with 'The Dark Knight,' Facebook users can rent the films for 30 FB Credits ($3 USD).

As with most other rental stores, viewers have two days to watch the film and can pause/resume whenever they choose during the period.

While watching the movie, the social networking giant says all Facebook functionality is still active, including the ability to chat, post comments and update statuses.

Says Warner (via THR):

Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people. Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world's largest social network.

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