Google is launching a citywide WiFi network in its home town Mountain View, California, but denied it was planning a nationwide service.

Minnie Ingersoll, Product Manager for Google commented:

Today, Google launched a WiFi network in our hometown of Mountain View. Radios hanging on lampposts throughout the city are now broadcasting a “GoogleWiFi” wireless (802.11b/g) signal that brings wireless Internet access to the city’s residents, businesses, and visitors. All anyone needs is a laptop or other wireless-enabled device and a web browser to get online. Then Mountain View users can select the “GoogleWiFi” signal, open their web browser and sign in with a free Google Account. To learn more about the network’s coverage area and the location of the WiFi radios, we’ve published a map.

This network is a way for us to give back to and engage with the community where our headquarters are. As the product manager for Google WiFi, it has been has been tremendously rewarding to partner with the local government, the schools, the library, the neighborhood associations, and all of our trusted testers to introduce the power of free, wireless Internet connectivity to the city. I look forward to meeting with more members of the community at upcoming training sessions and ice cream socials.

Let’s hope they can get the system working. WiFi has an unfortunate reputation for unreliable service and slow connections.

Google’s Blogger.com, the original blog publishing platform for the world, has unveiled a new beta version that has enhanced privacy settings. You can now specify if a blog is public, private or by invitation only.

Steve Rubel comments : “I signed up for the Blogger beta and found the changes to be very intuitive although evolutionary from the last big upgrade. However, already there is a big hole for private blogs. By default Google turns on feeds for all new blogs. When these blogs are private, the feeds are still totally public and therefore can and will be indexed by search engines. Google should treat feeds on private blogs the same way they do in Google Calendar.”

TechCrunch notes : “… in my experience the beta system isn’t stable enough to use yet. You can check it out now though. Blogger users will be notified when they are invited to switch over to the beta version. … There is a long list of new and updated features, but in the long run I’m guessing that integration of Blogger with Google Accounts may make the biggest difference.”

Blogger was developed by Pyra Labs in 1999, and sold to Google in 2003. The company has rather sat on it ever since, making small changes here and there and allowing millions of spam “splogs” to build up on the system. It’s generally recognized though that Blogger is the simplest way to put up a free blog and learn to manipulate the template code.

The BBC reports that Google is to provide search and advertising on MySpace.com and other websites owned by News Corporation’s Fox International Media. The deal will see Google pay Fox at least $900m (£472m), if specified web traffic targets are met.

Google said online community MySpace was an important site to be involved with given its rapid popularity growth.

From October, MySpace users will be able to use Google to search for groups and friends through the site. Google will also provide text-based adverts triggered by keywords found on the websites.

The deal ends speculation about which search engine would serve MySpace. Yahoo and MSN were also reported to have been in the running.

Earlier, Google struck a deal with MTV to distribute video footage from the music station to websites and blogs.

Hitwise has compiled “the volume of searches executed on the top search engines”, defined as 57 search engines used by U.S. internet users during a four week period.

The table above shows the top three engines Google, Yahoo! Search and MSN Search for the four weeks ending July 29, 2006.

Taken together with the recent spectacular financial results, is there anyone who can stop the onward march of Google?