Google Maps is set to provide a new option for getting around town: biking directions.

The company plans to unveil what it called 'the most requested addition to Google Maps' during the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. Google Maps users looking for directions between two points will now have the option of selecting 'bicycling' from the current drop-down menu that lets you customize a journey with walking, driving, or public transportation options.

Anyone who has ever tried to bike across San Francisco knows the value of a good bike map in helping to avoid 200-foot hills and city streets that behave more like freeways. Google Maps users have created their own bike maps for cities like New York and Minneapolis, but Google itself hadn't taken that step until now.

Google obtained much of its data from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in putting together the maps, and will have detailed information on bike routes in 150 U.S. cities as of Tuesday night's launch, said Shannon Guymon, Google Maps product manager.

NEW APPS STORE: Google is selling the online services of other business software makers.

THE SALES PITCH: By filling in some of the gaps in its own product line, Google hopes to persuade more companies to rely on applications piped over the Internet.

THE MOTIVE: More revenue and power for Google. Besides giving Google 20 percent of the sales, the store could help make people more even more dependent on the company's services.

Source: Summary Box: Go...

If you're the early-adopter type who doesn't mind paying top dollar for the latest tech gear, 3D TV may tickle your buying bone. But once you've shelled out thousands of dollars for 3D-enabled hardware, such as a Panasonic, Sony, or Samsung 3D TV, a 3D-capable Blu-ray player, and two or more pairs of 3D glasse, well, what's on 3D TV anyway? Here's your 3D programming guide for 2010.

ESPN ESPN in June will launch a 3D TV network that will show at least 85 sporting events this year. Its inaugural 3D show: the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa on June 11. The network says it has tested ESPN 3D for more than two years, and is optimistic that sports fans will cheer the new technology.

SAN FRANCISCO – Google Inc. will sell the online services of other business software makers in an effort to fill its own product gaps and persuade more companies to rely on applications piped over the Internet.

The online store that was announced late Tuesday marks another step in Google's crusade to convert the world to 'cloud computing,' the idea of running applications in Web browsers instead of installing them on individual hard drives. The information entered in the programs also is stored in data centers run by third parties such as Google.

More than 50 software makers have agreed to sell their Internet programs through Google, which will keep 20 percent of the sales. The prices are expected to range from $50 annually to several hundred dollars annually per user.

Updated at 6:32 p.m. and 7:35 p.m. with additional details.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Google is bringing the app store concept to business cloud computing, giving software developers a storefront for Google Apps customers.

The Google Apps Marketplace will allow Google Apps users to purchase third-party applications to run atop the Google Apps suite, said Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering for Google. Developers will have to pay a one-time $100 fee to list their applications in the store, and Google will get a 20 percent cut of all applications sold through the store, he said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US authorities charged an American woman known as "JihadJane" with recruiting jihadist fighters via the Internet and conspiring to kill an unnamed individual in Sweden.

The Justice Department unsealed the indictment Tuesday against Colleen LaRose, who was arrested in October 2009, hours after Irish police arrested seven people accused of plotting to kill a Swedish cartoonist.

LaRose faces charges of "conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements to a government official and attempted identity theft," the indictment said.

Samsungвs nifty new 3D glasses for its 3D LED, LCD and plasma TVs will cost you a pretty penny if bought alone and you wonвt be able to use them with other TV brands, company representatives confirmed at a press event Tuesday.

Samsungвs electronic shutter 3D glasses will come in three versions: One powered with a replaceable coin-sized battery ($150), another with an internal rechargeable battery ($200) and a smaller set of rechargeable glasses for children ($180). Note, however, that two pairs of glasses and a 3D Blu-ray movie come free with each new Samsung 3D TV.

Since Samsungвs LED and LCD TVs provide a 240Hz refresh rate, the glasses refresh at half that rate (120Hz) because they synchronize to 3D content by alternately closing and opening each side. A Samsung representative explained that plasma screens do not refresh the image the same way as LCD and LED panels, but the same Samsung 3D glasses will provide an identical 3D viewing experience.

A new security hole in Internet Explorer 6 and 7 can be targeted via code on a poisoned Web site, Microsoft warned today. A successful attacker could install malware on a victim PC or run any other remote command.

The invalid pointer reference bug, described in Microsoft Security Advisory 981374, is already being hit by targeted attacks, according to Microsoft. The company only released a warning, rather than a patch to go along with its regularly scheduled Patch Tuesday. There isn't yet any fix or real workaround, but Internet Explorer 8 is not affected by the bug.

SEOUL (Reuters) – LG Electronics Inc, the world's No. 3 mobile phone maker, on Wednesday launched a smartphone based on Google's Android operating system in South Korea, as it seeks to boost its relatively weak smartphone line-ups.

LG, which is fighting an uphill battle against leaders Nokia, Blackberry maker RIM and Apple, plans to boost smartphone offerings with some 20 models this year, half the offerings based on the most popular Android.

The South Korean firm wants to claim a double-digit share of the global smartphone market by 2012. Currently the top three players control three quarters of the booming and lucrative smartphone market.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is studying whether it can legally challenge Chinese Internet restrictions that hurt Google and other U.S. companies operating in China, but direct talks with Beijing might yield faster results, the top U.S. trade official said on Tuesday.

"We are still dialoguing not just with Google, but with other Internet providers, to make sure we fully understand what is happening in China," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in remarks at the National Press Club.