In This Update:

• Google Street View Goes Mobile
• Report: Google to Buy Valve Software
• Ike Causes Widest US Internet Outage Since 2003
• Christian Baudis to Lead Tremor Media’s European Business
• Yahoo Tests Home Page Using Outside Content
• Challenge Games Raises Another $10 Million
• EBillme Raises $12m in Funding Round
• Behavioral Targeting Firm Proclivity Systems Lands $5.5 Million
• WEbook Raises $5M More to Crowdsource the Novel

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Google Street View Goes Mobile
CNET
Street View endows Google Maps with a driver’s-eye view of the world, and now people actually on the street will be able to use it, too. The company announced a new version of its Google Maps for Mobile software that includes support for Street View, as well as walking directions and reviews of businesses. Google said the new version is faster too.
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Report: Google to Buy Valve Software
CNET
Google is on the brink of buying noted video game maker Valve Software, according to a report in The Inquirer that cites “well-placed sources.” Bellevue, Wash.-based Valve rose to prominence through games such as its Half Life series, but The Inquirer’s Charlie Demerjian speculates the reason Google would be most interested in the company is its Steam Powered technology, a multipurpose online hub with throngs of users.
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Ike Causes Widest US Internet Outage Since 2003
REDORBIT
An Internet outage swept through the United States after Hurricane Ike caused millions of dollars of damage in the Gulf Coast and beyond according to a firm that tracks connectivity. Renesys Corp. says Internet connections in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania were the hardest hit. However, the storm also caused outages in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. Surrounding states had scattered outages as well.
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Christian Baudis to Lead Tremor Media’s European Business
MARKETWATCH
Tremor Media, the leading video advertising network and provider of the Acudeo Video Monetization Platform, has appointed Christian Baudis as the new head of its European business and is beginning its worldwide expansion. He joins Tremor Media from Google, where he was formerly the head of the search provider’s operations in Germany. Disclaimer: Tremor is a former client of Progress Partners.
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Yahoo Tests Home Page Using Outside Content
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Yahoo will begin testing a new home page Thursday that plays down its own content and allows users to customize it with services from other Web sites, as the Internet company tries to jump-start its growth. The site’s new elements, which Yahoo will begin showing in stages to less than 1% of its more than 300 million monthly home-page visitors — is part of the company’s push to revamp all of its major Web properties.
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Challenge Games Raises Another $10 Million
TECHCRUNCH
Browser-based fantasy game startup Challenge Games has raised a $10 million B round just a couple months after raising its $4.5 million A round. Globespan led the round. Sequoia Capital, which led the last round, also participated. Challenge is behind the online role-playing games Duels and Baseball Boss. Both are addictive, and are designed to encourage the trading of virtual goods to help players improve their chances of scoring higher in the game.
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EBillme Raises $12m in Funding Round
FINEXTRA
EBillme, the only cash based alternative payment option that leverages online banking for eCommerce checkouts, online and in the call center, announced that the company has raised $12 million in a recently completed round of financing. The financing was led by Canaan Partners, as well as existing investor Celtic House Venture Partners, investors in software and Internet services companies.
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Behavioral Targeting Firm Proclivity Systems Lands $5.5 Million in Second Round of Funding
THE STANDARD
Proclivity Systems announced a second round of funding today, to the tune of $5.5 million. Proclivity provides back-end analytics in e-commerce sites to help retailers determine what an online shopper may be likely to buy. By mining the data trail someone leaves behind while browsing a shopping website, Proclivity claims it can help send offers and campaigns to consumers at the right time and right price point.
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WEbook Raises $5M More to Crowdsource the Novel
VENTUREBEAT
WEbook is a site that brings wiki-style methodology to the writing of books – you can create a project, invite others to help and solicit feedback. Readers can even vote, American Idol-style, for which books are best, and the top vote-getters will be published. The site launched in April, and WEbook just announced another $5 million in venture funding.
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