Anti-Spam Attack -- At least three variants of a virus dubbed Mimail has begun circulating the Internet, targeting anti-spam organizations. Mimail executes distributed denial of service attacks that flood the bandwidth of anti-spam networks with such a large amount of inbound junk mail that no outbound traffic can escape, making the websites inaccessible to visitors. The South China Morning Post reports that Spamhaus Project, SpamCop, and Spam Prevention Early Warning System-- organizations that provide the addresses of known and suspected spammers so that ISPs can filter out junk e-mail-- have all been hit by the attacks.
Online Bingo Awards -- WhichBingo, an online bingo portal that features bingo-related links, monthly free competitions, site reviews, and more, is looking for candidates to whom it can award the inaugural Online Bingo Site of the Year and the New Online Bingo Site of the Year. All pay-to-play bingo sites are qualified for the Site of the Year award, and all sites that have launched during 2003 are qualified for the New Site of the Year award. The winners will be decided by player voting, which will run until December 31. WhichBingo is promoting the awards through online advertising, press, direct mail, and other means.
Lottomatica -- In an effort to raise its profile in non-gambling sectors, Italian lottery operator Lottomatica is planning to acquire all the capital of Totobit Informatica Software e Sistemi SpA, an Italian online services company. The Italian competition authority has already given Lottomatica permission to pursue the deal.