BERTELSMANN DEVELOPING NAPSTER CLONE

From CNN: Bertelsmann is secretly developing software that could be used as a backup if file-sharing partner Napster is ordered to shut down. The program, dubbed Snoopstar, is an easy-to-use interface that allows users to search for music, videos and other files downloaded from various file-sharing services that include Napster, Gnutella and iMesh. Snoopstar, whose logo features a grinning dog's face similar to Napster's cat, was quietly made available for beta testing in early February. That beta test is now over, according to the Snoopstar Web site, which invites visitors to "check our Web site frequently for news." "Bertelsmann is clearly looking for alternatives should Napster really have to close," said Paul Myers, founder of Wippit, a U.K.-based file-sharing service, "but I don't see any advantages Snoopstar would have for them." Contrary to the principle of the peer-to-peer on which it capitalizes, Snoopstar's unified interface can be used only for searching on various services, not for offering one's own files for downloading. Beta testers of Snoopstar report that it included advertisements and links to Bertelsmann's retail music site CDNow, as well as to Barnesandnoble.com and BOL, if any given search for music turned up empty.